{"id":708506,"date":"2026-07-24T08:17:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T08:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/708506\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T08:17:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T08:17:31","slug":"studio-ghibli-fest-why-miyazakis-classic-films-are-a-bigger-cinema-hit-than-ever-before","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/708506\/","title":{"rendered":"Studio Ghibli Fest: Why Miyazaki\u2019s classic films are a bigger cinema hit than ever before"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Whenever the annual Studio Ghibli Fest calendar comes out, Amanda Mendoza VanCleave circles the dates.<\/p>\n

The festival marks a cherished, intergenerational tradition for VanCleave, her three-year-old daughter, and her mother, Araceli. Each year, they eagerly attend the theatrical re-releases of beloved Ghibli films in cinemas.<\/p>\n

The magic of the screenings is especially palpable for the youngest. \u201cRight when she sees the opening Totoro logo, she screams \u2018Totoro!\u2019\u201d VanCleave, 34, says. “Everyone in the theatre started laughing, and I was like, \u2018Oh, gosh, sorry.\u2019”<\/p>\n

While the family initially discovered the world of Ghibli on HBO Max, their regular visits to a favourite Austin, Texas, cinema solidified the tradition. <\/p>\n

Earlier this month, they saw Hayao Miyazaki\u2019s 1988 anime classic, My Neighbor Totoro, dressed in matching Totoro pyjamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been our thing,\u201d VanCleave says. \u201cUs three girls together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SenSen and No Face in \u2018Spirited Away\u2019<\/p>\n

The passionate fandom Studio Ghibli inspires is well-documented, but the consistent theatrical presence of its films \u2013 years, even decades after release \u2013 remains unparalleled in cinema. Annually, both long-time devotees and new fans flock to screens.<\/p>\n

Ghibli Fest, now a decade old, typically runs from June to October. It has seen classics such as My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Ponyo become theatrical mainstays, transforming the festival into cinema’s own ‘never-ending tour’.<\/p>\n

And the festival continues to expand. Launched in 2017 by GKids, Ghibli’s North American distributor, and Fathom Entertainment, its initial five titles garnered $5 million. However, its biggest box-office years have been the last three \u2013 notably, after Ghibli’s catalogue became easily streamable on HBO Max in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be lying if I thought the program when we conceived it would be going as long as it has,\u201d says Dave Jesteadt, GKids president. \u201cIt does defy conventional wisdom. We keep waiting for the year that people tire of going to the films, but that\u2019s not what\u2019s happening. Every single year, we see records being set. The grosses are going up, not down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demand keeps growing for Ghibli Fest<\/p>\n

The biggest year for Ghibli Fest was 2024, when 14 movies accounted for $16.4 million in sales. In 2025, eight movies grossed $10.6 million. This year, both Ponyo and My Neighbor Totoro have already played for popular five-day stints.<\/p>\n

Shannah Miller, vice president of marketing for Fathom, a company owned by the country’s top theater chains, has watched demand keep expanding. <\/p>\n

\"AA scene from the 2006 Ghibli film \u2018Tales From Earthsea\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we started, I think our theatrical footprint was about 640 locations,\u201d Miller says. \u201cThis year, we\u2019re crossing over 1,100 locations. We started with two, maybe three playdates for a particular title, but due to fan demand, we have five-day runs for some titles.\u201d<\/p>\n

When GKids first got Ghibli library in 2011, the Japanese studio emphasised how important theatrical was to them. First GKids hosted retrospectives, mostly in major markets and at arthouses. But Ghibli Fest moved the movies into multiplexes where a new generation of kids might stop before a cardboard cutout of Kiki (from Kiki\u2019s Delivery Service) or No Face (from Spirited Away) and wonder if there might be animated movie worlds beyond Disney. <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the worst things that can happen to classics is that they\u2019re perceived as classics and kept in amber,\u201d says Jesteadt. \u201cWe wanted to move to a nationwide celebration that really treated these as equivalent to any new Hollywood<\/a> film.\u201d<\/p>\n

While North America moviegoing is up more than 10 per cent this year, theaters have learned over the last decade that they can\u2019t always depend on a steady stream of new Hollywood releases. There tend to be soft spots in the schedule, and early weekdays are always slow, anyhow.<\/p>\n

Older movies have, increasingly, filled in the gaps. Ghibli Fest, though, predates more recent repertory trends. And the long-term effects have paid dividends, helping foster new Ghibli lovers. While an earlier generation might have been introduced first through Miyazaki\u2019s 2001 masterpiece Spirited Away, GKids now sees younger moviegoers indoctrinated by Ponyo or Howl\u2019s Moving Castle.<\/p>\n

\"AA scene from \u2018My Neighbor Totoro\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we introduced the catalogue to streaming in 2020 for the first time, we thought, \u2018OK, surely, this is maybe the moment,\u2019\u201d says Jesteadt. \u201cBut if anything, that just brought in a new audience that wanted to see these films in theaters for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018So much more fun than being on HBO Max\u2019<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s festival continues with Tales of Earthsea (8-10 August), Only Yesterday (9-11 August), the 40th anniversary of the first Ghibli release, 1986\u2019s Castle in the Sky (22-26 August), a 4K remastered Princess Mononoke (26-30 September), and finally a 25th anniversary for Spirited Away (17-21 October).<\/p>\n

While some of these movies are revived in other countries, Ghibli Fest is so far a strictly US-based phenomenon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are equally in awe of and proud of what we\u2019re building and the opportunity to celebrate instead of all the doom and gloom, \u2018Is theatre dead?\u2019 conversations,\u201d Miller says. \u201cWe have a different story to tell with Studio Ghibli.\u201d<\/p>\n

Studio Ghibli is such a cultural powerhouse that there are countless opportunities to reconnect with its stories. The Academy Museum is hosting a new Ponyo exhibit. The composer Joe Hisaishi is touring the music of many of the films, including a seven-night residency at New York\u2019s Radio City Music Hall in August.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis year marks the 40th anniversary of the first Ghibli release, 1986\u2019s \u2018Castle in the Sky\u2019<\/p>\n

But the movies themselves, on the big screen, are the eternal flames of Ghibli. The screenings are places for Ghibli fans, new and old, to congregate and immerse themselves in the natural splendor of the films.<\/p>\n

Angela Lector, 27, has attended Howl\u2019s Moving Castle dressed as its hero, Sophie, and met Japanese film students at a showing of Princess Mononoke, a favourite from when she was a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in the theatre is so much more fun than being on HBO Max,\u201d says Lector. \u201cBeing in your home, you can make your own popcorn and cuddle up with your dog. But being in the theatre you can actually talk to people you don\u2019t know about the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ghibli fans\u2019 only gripes are usually that the festival doesn\u2019t feature more deep cuts from the library. Lector would love to see 1984\u2019s pre-Ghibli Nausica\u00e4 of the Valley of the Wind brought back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ghibli films are timeless. There\u2019s something for everyone in them,\u201d Lector says. \u201cEverything feels human. No one is too powerful or too small.\u201d<\/p>\n

That can go for audience members, too. VanCleave recently noticed a classmate of her daughter\u2019s wearing a bow like Kiki’s. <\/p>\n

\u201cI saw her mom and asked about it. \u2026 she also had watched Ghibli movies at home,\u201d VanCleave says. \u201cSo, we invited her to Ponyo, and it was her first movie theatre experience. It was cute. The two three-year-olds shared a recliner.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708507,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[96,2839,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-708506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}