Fans stormed theaters in excitement after Makoto Shinkai's latest film Weathering With You opened in local cinemas this Wednesday. And it is no wonder, given the Filipinos' high-acclaim to Shinkai's Your Name, now Japan's highest-grossing animated film of all time.
But as expected from the Japanese director, Weathering With You is a spectacle on its own magical way. Showered with positive reviews, the film is currently the #1 anime of Japan for 2019 and has now become Japan's 10th highest-grossing film of all time. According to a report by Variety, Japanese distributor Toho announced last week that the movie has already amassed over 10 billion Japanese yen, or $94 million. Philippine film distributor Pioneer Films also confirmed that it is their biggest anime film opening yet, surpassing even their live-action releases.
Weathering With You's huge success doesn't end there. While audiences around the world continue to flood the theaters to see the film, a huge announcement has also been dropped: Makoto Shinkai's latest film will be Japan's contender for the International Feature Film Awards at the Oscars.
From a short list of 13 films, Weathering With You has been selected by a committee of seven directors, scriptwriters, and critics. This makes the film the second anime movie ever to be submitted for the category, following Princess Mononoke, an entry of the Japanese animation legend Hayao Mizaki back in 1998.
Weathering With You tells the story of Hodaka, a teenage boy who, after running away from his home island, finds himself living in the streets of Tokyo. As rains continue to pour all over the city, Hodaka meets Hina, a girl who can control the weather, not knowing the encounter would change his life forever.
Weathering With You is now showing on cinemas nationwide.
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Homestream image screengrabbed from GKIDS' official trailer for the film.
