Not only is Mamoru Hosoda's Belle winning at the box office, it's also been certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes with current Tomatometer and Audience Scores sitting at 95%!
GKIDS announced last week that the new anime film had earned over $2M during its opening weekend. They have now followed up this week with a new press release stating that Belle has now surpassed the $3M mark at the box office! This makes Belle Hosoda's highest grossing film in the United States, beating out 2018's Mirai which earned $812K.
According to GKIDS Chance Huskey, the film is now the highest-grossing original anime film (i.e. not part of a franchise) in the United States.
BELLE is an original story written and helmed by celebrated director Mamoru Hosoda, whose previous films include Mirai, The Boy and the Beast, Wolf Children, Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and others. Hosoda is joined by long time producing partner and Studio Chizu co-founder Yuichiro Saito, as producer on the title.
BELLE made its critically-acclaimed world debut at the Cannes Film Festival and its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival. The film has also played in competition at the London Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, and Los Angeles’ Animation is Film festival, where the film was awarded the Special Jury Prize. BELLE has received honors at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Chicago Film Critics Association, San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle, Austin Film Critics Association, Detroit Film Critics Society, Florida Film Critics Circle, Online Association of Female Film Critics, and Greater Western New York Film Critics Association. Last month, BELLE was also nominated for five Annie Awards, including Best Independent Animated Feature.
The film was released in theatres, including IMAX screens, in Japan on July 16, 2021. Despite ongoing limited seating capacities and nationwide curfews, the film topped the box office for three consecutive weekends. The film marks Hosoda’s first title to have IMAX screenings, and played in 38 IMAX theatres throughout Japan. BELLE has crossed over 6.53 billion yen in box office to date, and has become Hosoda’s highest-grossing film ever, beating the lifetime gross of Boy and the Beast.