The documentary film ‘Hayao Miyazaki: The Spirit of Nature’ about director Hayao Miyazaki, the ‘master of Japanese animation’ and the head of Studio Ghibli, is showing meaningful box office results.This film is especially attracting the attention of movie fans as it coincides with the recent wildfire craze of ‘AI(artificial intelligence)Ghibli photo making’.

According to the integrated computer network for movie ticket sales on the 3rd, ‘Hayao Miyazaki: The Spirit of Nature’, which was released on the 28th of last month, has surpassed 11,276 cumulative viewers as of the 2nd, just five days after its release.’Hayao Miyazaki: The Spirit of Nature’, which is also a commemorative work for the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Studio Ghibli, is a work that contains the life and philosophy of director Hayao, who talks about humans, the world, and nature through animation.

Considering that the documentary genre is the most difficult to attract audiences among independent and art films, industry insiders generally view that surpassing 10,000 viewers is even more significant.In the first weekend of screening(May 30-June 1), it recorded a sales rate of close to 6% with only 80,000 seats, which is only 1.2% of the total.

Some say that the success of these films is the result of a surge in domestic interest in Studio Ghibli and Director Hayao Miyazaki, which was fueled by the craze for creating “Ghibli-style” images that has swept the country and abroad.

The ‘Ghibli Style’ craze was sparked last month when users transformed their personal photos into Ghibli style using an open AI image creation function.While some people viewed the craze as a form of entertainment, there was also controversy over whether it was a copyright infringement on Studio Ghibli.

Director Hayao Miyazaki, who once criticized this AI craze as an “insult to life,” is drawing attention through this documentary by conveying the meaning contained in each line and each color that cannot be imitated by AI.

The heightened interest in Ghibli animation is expected to continue with the re-release of “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” on the 25th.”Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” which was first released in 1984, is Director Hayao Miyazaki’s first original feature-length animation, and tells the story of Nausicaä, a girl with special abilities, who faces the whirlwind of fate on a devastated Earth.


Reporter Seungmi smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.