Elysian Film Group Acquire U.K. rights To Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron

Hayao Miyazaki made his come back to animation recently with The Boy And The Heron. The film opened this year’s Toronto Film Festival to great acclaim and today Elysian Film Group have acquired the U.K. rights.

The news broke today in a joint deal which included  Anonymous Content and Bleecker Street.  The highly-anticipated new film from legendary filmmaker is his first film in a decade.

The Studio Ghibli production opened in Japan this summer surpassing the first four-day box office of Spirited Away (2001). The film will have its U.K. Premiere as a Special Presentation at the London Film Festival next month.

Here is a look at the film’s Trailer from Toronto Film Festival...

The Boy and the Heron is a hand-drawn, original story written and directed by the Academy Award®-winning director. Produced by Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki, the film features a musical score from Miyazaki’s long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi.

The deal was negotiated by Nick Shumaker of Anonymous Content with Danny Perkins of Elysian Film Group and Kent Sanderson and Avy Eschenasy on behalf of Bleecker Street, and Vincent Maraval and Eva Diederix of Goodfellas on behalf of the filmmakers. This acquisition continues the collaboration between the companies across borders in a time of corporate contraction.

The companies jointly commented: “Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli are second-to-none as artists and innovators, and we could not be more proud to bring this beautiful, emotional film to audiences across the U.K.”

The deal marks the first time Bleecker Street has directly invested in U.K. distribution and marks their first-ever animated film. The film is the second collaboration in this market with Elysian Film Group, who will produce, and Anonymous Content.

Elysian Film Group will release  The Boy And The Heron in U.K. cinemas later this year.