You know, after last month’s Studio Ghibli news, this only seems right.
Earlier today, GKIDS announced that they acquired the North American distribution rights to Mary and the Witch’s Flower (Mary to Majo no Hana) . The publisher is planning a theatrical run for the movie this winter.
Mary and the Witch’s Flower opened on July 8. The film took #2 in the domestic charts in its début weekend, with 324,000 tickets sold and 428 million yen in revenues ($3,780,382.76 USD). The film is currently planned to open in 155 countries and territories across the globe.
Last month, Oricon reported that Ponoc’s received offers from distributors in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, China, South Korea, South America, the Middle East, and Africa. The organization also reports that an English-dubbed adaptation is planned, and will feature “big-name actors.”
In February, news broke that Altitude Film Sales acquired the global rights to the feature. Altitude will distribute the movie in the United Kingdom, while Madman releases it in Australia and New Zealand. As of press time, no North American publisher has been announced.
Mary and the Witch’s Flower is based on Mary Stewart’s book The Little Broomstick. The feature was helmed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (When Marnie Was There) at Studio Ponoc. Yonebayashi co-wrote the script with Riko Sakaguchi (The Tale of Princess Kaguya), while Takatsugu Muramatsu (When Marnie Was There) scored the soundtrack. Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura is listed as the film’s producer.
This is the first feature film by Studio Ponoc. The company, which includs several former Studio Ghibli members, previously produced animated commercials for West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in 2015.
Four trailers were released to promote Mary and the Witch’s Flower, which you can check out below:
Sources: Deadline
