Megabox to distribute Miyazaki's 'The Boy and the Heron'

Main poster for ″The Boy and the Heron″ [MEGABOX]

Megabox will distribute Hayao Miyazaki’s upcoming film “The Boy and the Heron,” with the film slated to open in Korea within the year, the film production and distribution company announced Tuesday.

“The Boy and the Heron” is the first film in a decade from Miyazaki, who heads Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. The title of the film refers to a 1937 novel by author Genzaburo Yoshino, but the film has an original story not directly connected to the novel.

“The Boy and the Heron” opened first in Japan in July and topped the box offices in the country, attracting 3 million moviegoers in just 17 days upon release.

The film received attention for its unorthodox marketing strategy of not releasing any information about the plot or characters — nothing except the main poster was released before the opening of the film in Japan, foregoing the usual release of teasers, trailers and a synopsis. “The Boy and the Heron” is expected to be Miyazaki’s last feature film before retirement, according to reports from Japan.

Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985 and directed numerous hit animation films with the studio, including “Castle in the Sky” (1986), “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988), “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” (1989), “Princess Mononoke” (1997), “Spirited Away” (2001), “Howl's Moving Castle” (2004) and “The Wind Rises” (2013). “Spirited Away” became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Miyazaki also won the Academy Honorary Award in 2014 for his impact on animation and cinema and is considered a legend among animators and film directors.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]