Studio Ghibli's director Hayao Miyazaki (82)'s first feature-length animation film in 10 years, "The Boy and the Heron" has attracted 1.35 million spectators and exceeded 2.14 billion yen in box office revenue in four days from the 14th to the 17th. Distribution Toho announced on the 18th. It surpassed the box office revenue in the first four days of the same director's work "Spirited Away" released in 2001, and exceeded 150% of the box office revenue of the previous work "The Wind Rises" released in 2013.

This work is the intention of Ghibli side, and almost no promotion is performed, and it is released without prior information such as synopsis and cast. On the release date, it was revealed that Kenshi Yonezu (32)'s "Earth Globe" will be the theme song. A theater pamphlet will also be released at a later date.

The title is taken from a novel of the same name by Yoshino Genzaburo, who impressed Miyazaki, but the story is Miyazaki's original work. Director Miyazaki announced his retirement from feature-length animation production with "The Wind Rises" in 2013, but withdrew in 2017. It was released after 5 years of production.