“The Boy and The Heron” soars above “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” while “Wonka” dazzles abroad

The Studio Ghibli film debuted to $12.8 million in North America, for a total of $114.2 million worldwide.

Feathers, fur, and musical numbers reigned supreme at this weekend’s box office, where birds, trolls, and a kaiju duked it out for the #1 spot.

The Boy and the Heron, the latest from the mind of Hayao Miyakazi and Studio Ghibli came out on top, debuting to $12.8 million at the domestic box office for a grand total of $114.2 million worldwide.

Clearly cinephiles worldwide were pleased to see the legendary filmmaker behind titles like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro make his unexpected return with yet another magical epic. The film follows young Mahito, who ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead after his mother’s death. Though the mythical creatures and phantasmagoric imagery says otherwise, the semi-autobiographical story also draws upon realism, not unlike The Wind Rises, the film previously thought to be the director’s last.

Abroad, an entirely different contender swooped into the top spot, in the form of Timothée Chalamet's kooky chocolatier from Wonka. The film, which offers the backstory of the iconic Willy Wonka featured in Roald Dahl’s classic novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, raked in an impressive $43.2 million internationally. The Christmas musical is already off to a promising start, with more to come when it arrives everywhere on Dec. 16.

Domestically, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes came in second, adding $9.4 million to its now $135.6 million total ($278.9 globally). Since prequels are all the rage, the dystopian adaptation starring Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth has brought fans back in time to see the origins of franchise antagonist, Coriolanus Snow, who grows to witness Katniss Everdeen’s takedown of the Capitol as the President standing in her way.

Toho International’s Godzilla Minus One, the 37th Godzilla movie, continued its hot streak to record breaking success. With a domestic haul of $25.3 million ($52.3 million globally), the monster movie has become the highest-grossing live-action Japanese film released in North America.

The Japan-set film sees the nation fending off an attack from the kaiju while still reeling from World War II. The film exists separately from Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse, which is set to continue next year with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Two animated family films round out the top five, with Trolls Band Together taking fourth place with an additional $6.2 million. The franchise film which reunites Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake as Poppy and Branch while also welcoming NSYNC into the colorful fold, is now at $83 million domestic ($173.8 global). Elsewhere, Disney’s Wish has clung on for another week thanks to an added $5.3 million ($49.4 million domestic cume, $105.5 million global cume).

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Related content:

• Christian Bale, Gemma Chan, and more cast in English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron

• The Boy and the Heron trailer unveils Hayao Miyazaki's magical, mysterious new epic

• Game on: How The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes brings young Coriolanus Snow to life
  

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