BELLE, Mamoru Hosoda’s new film, is now officially his top grosser. The film has earned 5.87 billion yen (about $53.4 million) at the Japanese box office — that’s more than Hosoda’s Boy and the Beast, which brought in 5.85 billion. And it’s still playing in some theaters!
Meanwhile, BELLE is headed to North America via GKIDS this winter. Here’s how they describe it:
From the celebrated Oscar®-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu, creator of Mirai, Wolf Children, Summer Wars, and more, comes a fantastical, yet beautiful and contemporary thematic story of one girl’s growth in the age of social media.
Suzu is a 17-year-old high school student living in a rural village with her father. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. One day, she enters “U,” a virtual world of 5 billion members on the Internet. There, she is not Suzu anymore but Belle, a world-famous singer. She soon meets with a mysterious creature. Together, they embark on a journey of adventures, challenges and love, in their quest to become who they truly are.
Source: ANN