According to a recent article on Variety, the UK distribution license to Studio Ghibli’s latest film by Hayao Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron, has been jointly acquired by Elysian Film Group, Anonymous Content and Bleecker Street, with Elysian Film Group expected to release the film within the UK later this year.
While Anonymous Content and Bleecker Street are new names to the anime distribution list they are certainly not unfamiliar within the entertainment industry, as both companies have helped TV and Movies find widespread appeal across the globe. Elysian Film Group meanwhile did previously release Earwig and the Witch, the first CGI film from Studio Ghibli, into cinemas (and eventually Blu-Ray and DVD) during 2021 within the UK. According to the article all three companies worked together to negotiate the license deal, with Bleecker Street providing investment for its UK distribution.
About: A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death and creation, in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.
While it is unclear on when Elysian Film Group plan to release The Boy and the Heron within the UK the film will receive a screening at the BFI in October (as reported here) with tickets currently available to purchase online. A teaser trailer for The Boy and the Heron was also made available last week, with confirmation that GKIDS would be handling the US release of the film.
