GKIDS’ ‘Weathering With You’ Has a Sunny U.S. Opening

Makoto Shinkai’s acclaimed animated feature Weathering With You proved to be quite popular with audiences in the US. The 2019 Japanese feature, which was released by GKIDS, had an estimated three-day weekend gross of $1,731,372 from 466 theaters and was the 14th most popular title at the box office. The movie had a two-day preview fan screening of $3,046,250 earlier last week, and is projected to make over $5 million over the four-day weekend.

Although the movie didn’t receive a Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination this year, it was Japan’s entry for Best International Feature for 2019. The film is up for four Annie Awards — Best Animated Indie Feature, Achievement in Directing, Writing and Animated Effects. Weathering With You nabbed a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and delivered the highest grossing GKIDS opening of all time, surpassing last year’s sleeper Mary and the Witch’s Flower.

The charming fantasy follows the adventures of a high-school boy who leaves his small town for Tokyo and befriends a girl who appears to be able to manipulate the weather. Shinkai’s popular movie was the highest grossing movie in Japan in 2019, surpassing the box office performance of his previous hit Your Name with a 14 billion yen ($130 million) total. The film also grossed over $40 million in China. Currently, the film’s worldwide total is $182,066,419 million. You can read our interview with the film’s director here.

By:Ramin Zahed