Studio Ghibli has created some of the most beautiful and heartfelt movies of all time with a unique fantastical animation style. Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, and Isao Takahata founded Studio Ghibli on June 15, 1985, as an animation studio. The studio has produced over 15 films, some of which were made for TV.
Although Studio Ghibli is growing in popularity in the United States, it’s more known in Japan. Still, more and more Americans are watching Studio Ghibli films as they are released with an English-speaking cast. This is all thanks to Disney.
In 1996, Disney and Studio Ghibli (Tokuma Shoten – an old parent company) signed a deal that allowed Disney to re-dub and release some Studio Ghibli films in North America. They no longer, though, have the rights to the movies.
For this slideshow, we used IMDB to find the box office earnings for each film in North America. Click through the slideshow to see how each Studio Ghibli movie ranks by American box office revenue.
“The Boy and the Heron” (2023)
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Starring: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake
- Release Date: July 14, 2023
- U.S./Canada Box Office: 46.83 million
“The Secret World of Arrietty” (2010)
- Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
- Starring: Mirai Shida, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Shinobu Otake, Keiko Takeshita, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Tomokazu Miura, and Kirin Kiki
- Release Date: July 17, 2010
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $19.2 million
“Ponyo” (2008)
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Starring: Yuria Nara, Hiroki Doi, Tomoko Yamaguchi, Kazushige Nagashima, Yūki Amami, George Tokoro, Rumi Hiiragi, Akiko Yano, Kazuko Yoshiyuki and Tomoko Naraoka
- Release Date: July 19, 2008
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $15.09 million
“Spirited Away” (2001)
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Starring: Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takashi Naito, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Tsunehiko Kamijō, Takehiko Ono, and Bunta Sugawara
- Release Date: July 20, 2001
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $10.06 million
“The Wind Rises” (2013)
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Starring: Hideaki Anno, Miori Takimoto, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Masahiko Nishimura, Morio Kazama, Keiko Takeshita, Mirai Shida, Jun Kunimura, Shinobu Otake, and Nomura Mansai
- Release Date: July 20, 2013
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $5.21 million
“Howl’s Moving Castle” (2004)
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Starring: Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura and Akihiro Miwa
- Release Date: November 20, 2004
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $4.71 million
“Princess Mononoke” (1997)
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Starring: Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yūko Tanaka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Masahiko Nishimura, Tsunehiko Kamijō, Akihiro Miwa, Mitsuko Mori, and Hisaya Morishige
- Release Date: July 12, 1997
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $2.38 million
“My Neighbor Totoro” (1988)
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Starring: Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto and Hitoshi Takagi
- Release Date:
April 16, 1988 - U.S./Canada Box Office: $2.2 million
“Kiki’s Delivery Service” (1989)
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Starring: Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi, and Keiko Toda
- Release Date: July 29, 1989
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $1 million
“From Up on Poppy Hill” (2011)
- Director: Gorō Miyazaki
- Starring: Masami Nagasawa, Junichi Okada, Keiko Takeshita, Yuriko Ishida, Jun Fubuki, Takashi Naito, Shunsuke Kazama, Nao Ōmori and Teruyuki Kagawa
- Release Date: July 16, 2011
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $1 million
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” (2013)
- Director: Isao Takahata
- Starring: Aki Asakura, Kengo Kora, Takeo Chii, Nobuko Miyamoto, Atsuko Takahata, Tomoko Tabata, Tatekawa Shinosuke, Takaya Kamikawa, Hikaru Ijūin, Ryudo Uzaki, Nakamura Shichinosuke II, Isao Hashizume, Yukiji Asaoka, and Tatsuya Nakadai.
- Release Date: November 23, 2013
- U.S/Canada Box Office: $974,913
“The Red Turtle” (2016)
- Director: Michaël Dudok de Wit
- Starring: Emmanuel Garijo, Tom Hudson, Baptiste Goy, Axel Devillers, and Barbara Beretta
- Release Date: September 17, 2016
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $921,974
“The Cat Returns” (2002)
- Director: Hiroyuki Morita
- Starring: Chizuru Ikewaki, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Tetsu Watanabe, Yosuke Saito, Aki Maeda and Tetsurō Tamba
- Release Date: July 20, 2002
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $563,718
“When Marnie Was There” (2014)
- Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
- Starring: Sara Takatsuki, Kasumi Arimura, Hana Sugisaki, Hitomi Kuroki, and Ryoko Moriyama
- Release Date: July 19, 2014
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $561,085
“Castle in the Sky” (1986)
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Starring: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, and Minori Terada
- Release Date: August 2, 1986
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $523,664
“Grave of the Fireflies” (1988)
- Director: Isao Takahata
- Starring: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara, and Akemi Yamaguchi
- Release Date: April 16, 1988
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $516,962
“Whisper of the Heart” (1995)
- Director: Yoshifumi Kondō
- Starring: Yoko Honna, Issei Takahashi, Takashi Tachibana, Shigeru Muroi, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi and Keiju Kobayashi
- Release Date: July 15, 1995
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $498,156
“Only You” (1991)
- Director: Isao Takahata
- Starring: Miki Imai, Toshirō Yanagiba, and Yōko Honna
- Release Date: July 20, 1991
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $453,243
“Porco Rosso” (1992)
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Starring: Shūichirō Moriyama, Tokiko Kato, Akemi Okamura and Akio Ōtsuka
- Release Date: July 18, 1992
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $443,059
“Pom Poko” (1994)
- Director: Isao Takahata
- Starring: Makoto Nonomura, Shigeru Izumiya, Nijiko Kiyokawa, and Kosan Yanagiya
- Release Date: July 16, 1994
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $372,405
“Tales from Earthsea” (2006)
- Director: Gorō Miyazaki
- Starring: Bunta Sugawara, Junichi Okada, Aoi Teshima, and Yūko Tanaka
- Release Date: July 29, 2006
- U.S./Canada Box Office: $20,614
“My Neighbors the Yamadas” (1999)
- Director: Isao Takahata
- Starring: Hayato Isobata, Masako Araki, Naomi Uno, Touru Masuoka, Yukiji Asaoka, Akiko Yano, and Kosanji Yanagiya
- Release Date: July 17, 1999
- U.S./Canada Box Office: Low/Unknown
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Courtesy of 50th Street Films.