Theatrical life first, then tapes and discs. Streaming rights move; the soundtracks have their own notes.
Mononoke-hime opened July 12, 1997 on a wide Toho release and ran for months. Contemporary tallies put the domestic take around ¥18.25 billion before Titanic passed it in May 1998. It was the top film in Japan, not “the highest-grossing Japanese film until a Hollywood picture.” Titanic is not a Japanese film.
Admissions figures circulate in the low tens of millions. Treat any one number as a tally, not scripture.
Miramax (then under Disney) took North America. The English version opened October 29, 1999 at PG-13, uncut, 134 minutes.
Weinstein wanted it shorter. Ghibli refused. Producer Toshio Suzuki — not Miyazaki — presented him with a replica katana and “No cuts.” Miyazaki later said the producer did that. The picture stayed whole.
Neil Gaiman adapted the English script. The dub (Studiopolis) includes Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Billy Bob Thornton, and Gillian Anderson. The 1999 U.S. theatrical take was small — commonly cited around $2.3 million. The film found its American audience later, on tape and disc.
GKIDS later handled U.S. Ghibli theatrical rights and the restorations.
Japan and North America both had VHS, then DVD, then Blu-ray. Early U.S. VHS was not a bilingual package; do not assume every edition carries Japanese audio and the English dub.
A 4K UHD disc is not something this page will claim. The 2025 work that is easy to stand behind is theatrical 4K.
GKIDS opened a restored 4K print in North American IMAX on March 26, 2025. Elysian Film Group and Goodfellas brought that restoration to UK and Ireland cinemas on October 17, 2025.
Worldwide lifetime totals that fold in re-releases get republished often and do not agree. This page will not treat one cumulative dollar figure as inflation-adjusted truth.
Joe Hisaishi's original soundtrack (July 1997) and the later image album and symphonic suite are on the soundtracks hub.
Licenses move. Check what your region actually has this month.
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