‘The Boy and the Heron’ soars to the top of the box office with $12.8 million

The Boy and the Heron, the latest effort from animation whiz Hayao Miyazaki, opened at number one at the North American box office with an estimated $12.8 million, and became the first original anime film to top the domestic box office. The Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke filmmaker’s triumphant return after announcing his retirement in 2013 has collected $114.2 million worldwide.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hangs on to second place, collecting an estimated $9.4 million, to bring its four-week domestic tally to $135.6 million. The Hunger Games prequel has amassed $278.9 globally.

Third place went to Godzilla Minus One, with the 33rd film in the Godzilla franchise earning an estimated $8.3 million in its second week of release. It’s now the highest-grossing live-action Japanese film to be released in North America with a total of $25.3 million. Its global haul now stands at $52.3 million.

Trolls Band Together took fourth place, delivering an estimated $6.2 million. The third Trolls movie has grossed $83.1 million at the North American box office, bringing its four-week tally to $83 million. Worldwide, the animated film has earned $173.8 million.

Rounding out the top five was Disney’s Wish, adding an estimated $5.3 million for a four-week total of $49.4 million domestically and $105.5 million worldwide.

Elsewhere, Beyoncé’s concert film, Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, which topped the box office last week, dropped to number 6 its second weekend out, picking up an estimated $5 million.