is a 2019 Japanese
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
romantic fantasy film
Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...
produced by
CoMix Wave Films
is a Japanese animation film studio and distribution company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The studio is known for its anime feature films, short films, and television commercials, particularly those made by director Makoto Shinkai. It was fou ...
and distributed by
Toho
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
. It depicts a high school boy who runs away from his rural home to
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
and befriends an orphan girl who has the ability to control the weather. The film was commissioned in 2018, written and directed by
Makoto Shinkai
, known as
, is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, author, and manga artist.
Shinkai began his career as a video game animator with Nihon Falcom in 1996, and gained recognition as a filmmaker with the release of the original video animation (OVA) ' ...
.
It features the voices of
Kotaro Daigo and
Nana Mori
is a Japanese actress and singer from Oita Prefecture, Japan.
Biography
Mori was born in Osaka on August 31, 2001 and brought up in Ōita. In 2016, she was scouted by the talent agency ARBRE.
In 2021, she signed a contract with SMA (Sony Music ...
, with animation direction by Atsushi Tamura, character design by Masayoshi Tanaka, and its orchestral score and soundtrack composed by
Radwimps
is a Japanese rock band who debuted independently in 2003 and signed with Toshiba EMI in 2005. The band's name, Radwimps, was formed from two English slang terms, " rad" and "wimp". According to the band, the coined word had several meanings, i ...
; the latter two previously collaborated with Shinkai on ''
Your Name
is a 2016 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film produced by CoMix Wave Films. It depicts a high school boy in Tokyo and a high school girl in the Japanese countryside who suddenly and inexplicably begin to swap bodies. The film was commissi ...
'' (2016). A light novel of the same name, also written by Shinkai, was published a day prior the film's premiere, while a
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
adaptation was serialized in ''
Afternoon
Afternoon is the time after solar noon. It is the time when the sun is descending from its peak in the sky to somewhat before its terminus at the horizon in the west. In human life, it occupies roughly the latter half of the standard work and s ...
'' on July 25, 2019.
''Weathering with You'' was theatrically released in conventional,
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
, and
4DX theaters in Japan on July 19, 2019, and was released in the United States on January 20, 2020. It received positive reviews, with praise for the animation, narrative, music, visuals, and emotional weight, although some reviewers were divided over perceived similarities to ''Your Name''. The film grossed US$193.8 million worldwide, becoming the highest grossing Japanese film of 2019, and the
seventh highest-grossing anime film of all time, unadjusted for inflation.
The film won a number of awards, including being selected as the Japanese entry for
Best International Feature Film at the
92nd Academy Awards
The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 ...
. It received four
Annie Award
The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...
nominations, including for
Best Independent Animated Feature, tying ''
Spirited Away
is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film, and Mitsubishi and distrib ...
'' and ''
Millennium Actress
is a 2001 Japanese animated drama film co-written and directed by Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse. Loosely based on the lives of actresses Setsuko Hara and Hideko Takamine, it tells the story of two documentary filmmakers investigating the ...
'' (both 2001) for the most nominations for an anime film at the Annies (until it was surpassed by
Hosoda's ''
Belle'' (2021), with five nominations).
Plot
In June 2021, first year high schooler Hodaka Morishima escapes
Kōzu-shima in order to get away from his troubled home life to Tokyo. When his ferry to the city is hit by a rainstorm, he is saved by Keisuke Suga. As Hodaka becomes broke and struggles to find work, he meets Hina Amano, an employee of a
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
restaurant, who takes pity on him and gives him food. Hodaka later finds an abandoned
Makarov PM
The Makarov pistol or PM ( rus, Пистоле́т Мака́рова, r=Pistolét Makárova, p=pʲɪstɐˈlʲet mɐˈkarəvə, t=Makarov's Pistol) is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. Under the project leadership of Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, it ...
handgun. Suga hires him as his assistant at a small occult magazine publishing company, there they investigate urban legends related to the unusually rainy weather in Tokyo. They hear the legend of "sunshine girls" who can control the weather. Hodaka sees Hina being intimidated into working at a club. He scares off the club owners by firing his gun into the air. Hina takes him to Yoyogi Kaikan, an abandoned building with a shrine on the roof, where he throws the gun away. Hina shocks him by demonstrating her ability to clear the sky by praying. Hina lives alone with her brother Nagi, and they have no adult guardian. Seeing how they are also in financial trouble, Hodaka proposes to start a business together: a job to clear the weather for events like weddings and parties. Their business becomes a success but when Hina is shown on television, their site gets flooded with requests so they decide to close.
Police search for Hodaka, as his family filed a missing person report. They find Hodaka using the gun on a security camera. Officers arrive at Hina's apartment and interrogate her; Hina realizes that because they have no legal guardians, social services are going to separate her and Nagi. Suga, having also been visited by the police, fires Hodaka, explaining that police suspect him of kidnapping him. Hodaka, Hina and Nagi try to run away but are halted by the worsening weather. They take shelter in a hotel. Hina reveals that her body is slowly turning into water the more she uses her power. Bringing sunshine will cause her to disappear, although after that the weather will return to normal. The next morning, Hina has vanished and the rain has stopped. The police track Hodaka to the hotel. Nagi is sent to the children's counseling center and Hodaka to the police station. Having fallen in love with Hina, Hodaka decides to bring her back to Earth and escapes from custody with the help of Suga's niece Natsumi. The police surround Hodaka, but Suga, inspired by Hodaka's desperation to see Hina, helps him escape. At the rooftop shrine, Hodaka jumps through the shrine gate and is transported into the sky, where he finds Hina, insisting that she let go of her worries about the weather and start living for herself. As soon as they come back, Hina, Hodaka, Natsumi, Nagi, and Suga are all arrested, and the heavy rains resume. Hodaka is sentenced to a three-year probation and sent back home in Kōzu-shima.
Three years later, the rain has been falling without end in Tokyo, submerging much of the city. In the spring of 2024, having finished his probation, Hodaka graduates from high school and returns to Tokyo to start college. He meets with Suga, who has expanded his business. Hodaka finds Hina praying on a street overlooking the drowned city, and they reunite.
Voice cast
Production
![Makoto Shinkhai in Moscow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Makoto_Shinkhai_in_Moscow.JPG)
On August 2, 2018,
Makoto Shinkai
, known as
, is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, author, and manga artist.
Shinkai began his career as a video game animator with Nihon Falcom in 1996, and gained recognition as a filmmaker with the release of the original video animation (OVA) ' ...
announced that he was making a new feature film that would be released the following year.
The film staff included Masayoshi Tanaka as character designer, Atsushi Tamura as animation director and Hiroshi Takiguchi as art director.
Shinkai tweeted about his admiration for
Shikao Suga
is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter from Tokyo known for writing the theme songs for several anime, movies and commercial ads. His name in kanji is . He uses katakana as his professional name.
Prior to career
Suga went to Kosei Gakue ...
, and that he "borrowed" the last name for the character Keisuke Suga.
In February 2017, plot development of ''Weathering with You'' began, and in April, character design and development started. In July, Shinkai began writing the script of the film. In August, setting development, location scouting and collecting information started. Storyboarding began in October. In May 2018, animation work began, while the development of the rain material in the film started in July. In August, cast audition was held, and art background work started in September. In October, the cast of two protagonists of the film was decided.
On December 13, 2018, a press conference was held to reveal the film's first key visual and to announce that it would be released on July 19, 2019.
Photoshooting for the film started in January 2019. The first trailer debuted on April 10, exactly 100 days before the premiere.
Additional posters of the film and the second trailer was released on May 28.
All work was completed by July 7, and the film was ready to be released.
In an interview, Shinkai said, "I thought, 'Should I make my next film so that I don't anger more people, or should I make a movie that angers them further?' And I chose the latter." He also added that he was influenced by the
impact of climate change on Japan, particularly the increase in rainfall during the summer months.
[ He revealed that he used both CG and hand drawn animation to depict the rain in the film. The writing process of the story includes getting feedback from the production team, he revealed that he took around six months to write his previous film, ''Your Name'', and another six months for ''Weathering With You''. Shinkai chose a more "supernatural" approach on this film, as opposed to the ]science-fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...
angle he used for ''Your Name''. When asked for the reason of including the characters from ''Your Name'', Shinkai said, "Personally, I wanted to see Taki and Mitsuha again before they met."
Casting
Around 2,000 people auditioned for the roles of the film's two protagonists with Kotaro Daigo and Nana Mori
is a Japanese actress and singer from Oita Prefecture, Japan.
Biography
Mori was born in Osaka on August 31, 2001 and brought up in Ōita. In 2016, she was scouted by the talent agency ARBRE.
In 2021, she signed a contract with SMA (Sony Music ...
being chosen. Other key roles were filled with returning crew members of ''Your Name''. Daigo and Mori began recording their parts on April 27, 2019.
On May 29, 2019, additional cast was announced: Shun Oguri
is a Japanese actor and voice actor, son of stage director Tetsuya Oguri, and the youngest of 3 siblings, including older brother Ryo, who is also an actor.
He started in small roles as extra in the works in which his father and brother worked ...
(Keisuke Suga), Tsubasa Honda
is a Japanese actress and model.
Career
In mid-2006, Honda entered the entertainment industry after being scouted by seven different people on the same day. She then debuted as an exclusive model for the magazine '' Seventeen'' in the same year. ...
(Natsumi), Chieko Baisho
is a Japanese actress and singer.
In Japan, she is well known for her performance as Sakura in the '' Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series from 1969 until 1995. In addition, she has acted in many films directed by Yōji Yamada since the 1960s. She won ...
(Tomi), Sakura Kiryuu (Nagi Amano), Sei Hiraizumi
is a Japanese actor. In 1964, Hiraizumi joined Daiei Film company and started his acting career.
In the 1970s to early 1980s, he appeared in a lot of jidaigeki and detective television dramas as a guest villain actor.
Hiraizumi starred as Koichi ...
(Yasui), and Yuki Kaji
Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to:
Places
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan
* Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan
* Yuki, ...
(Takai).
Music
Like Shinkai's ''Your Name'', Japanese rock
, sometimes abbreviated to , is rock music from Japan. Influenced by American and British rock of the 1960s, the first rock bands in Japan performed what is called Group Sounds, with lyrics almost exclusively in English. Folk rock band Happy End ...
band Radwimps
is a Japanese rock band who debuted independently in 2003 and signed with Toshiba EMI in 2005. The band's name, Radwimps, was formed from two English slang terms, " rad" and "wimp". According to the band, the coined word had several meanings, i ...
wrote and composed the soundtrack and score for the film. It was released worldwide on July 19, 2019, the day of the film's release. is the film's theme song. It become the top-selling song in the weekly digital single chart of July 15–21. Another song, "Grand Escape (Movie edit) feat. Tōko Miura" from the film ranked second with over 41,000 downloads. The film's soundtrack album won multiple awards, including the Japan Gold Disc Award
The is an award presented by the Recording Industry Association of Japan
The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Associa ...
and the 43rd Japan Academy Film Prize.
Marketing
Producer Genki Kawamura presented a work in process
Work in process (WIP), work in progress (WIP), goods in process, or in-process inventory refers to a company's partially finished goods waiting for completion and eventual sale, or the value of these items. The term is used in supply chain managem ...
screening on June 14, 2019, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...
in France that was open to industry professionals and students but not the general public. TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
aired footage from the film's opening scene during a reshowing of Shinkai's previous film ''Your Name'' on June 30. Before its screening in Japan, Uniqlo launched special t-shirts with designs inspired by ''Weathering with You'' and Shinkai's previous anime films. ''Weathering With You'' reportedly promoted multiple products and companies including SoftBank Group
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the ...
, Suntory
(commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. Its ...
and Baitoru, in television advertisements. During its screening in Japan, many convenience stores such as Lawson, launched food products inspired by the film. Lawson also created a new beverage called Ameiro Jelly Tea, a herbal tea
Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term ...
infused with blue flower petals.
Release
''Weathering with You'' was released in Japan on July 19, 2019, at 9 a.m. (JST) by its distributor Toho
is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...
on 448 screens in 359 theaters across the country. Theaters in Tokyo's Shinjuku
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...
and Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
's Umeda
is a major commercial, business, shopping and entertainment district in Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, and the city's main northern railway terminus (Ōsaka Station, Umeda Station). The district's name means "plum field".
History
Umeda was historical ...
districts, however, premiered the film at midnight, July 18. ''Weathering with You'' official website announced on September 20 that the film would be shown in the popular 4DX and MX4D formats throughout Japan from September 27. The film was produced by Genki Kawamura with the production company CoMix Wave Films
is a Japanese animation film studio and distribution company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The studio is known for its anime feature films, short films, and television commercials, particularly those made by director Makoto Shinkai. It was fou ...
and Story Inc. On July 16, it was announced that the film would be released worldwide; releases had already been decided for 140 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, exceeding the 135 for ''Your Name''.
In Asia, EDKO Films released the film in Hong Kong on August 8, Encore Films
Encore Films is a film distribution and production company based in Singapore. It distributes primarily Japanese and other Asian content in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Some titles released by Encore Films ...
streamed a Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
, Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
, and English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
-subtitled trailer and announced and released the film in few Southeast Asia countries including; Indonesia on August 21, Vietnam on August 30, Malaysia & Brunei on September 5 and Singapore on September 12. Pioneer Films announced and released the movie in the Philippines on August 17 for an advanced screening in SM Megamall and August 28 for general release. Producer Genki Kawamura said they want to release it in India because 53,000 people signed a petition requesting its release there. On August 10, director Makoto Shinkai and the official page of ''Weathering with You'' announced through Twitter the film would be screened in 20 Indian cities including Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
and Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
from October 11, 2019. PVR Pictures
PVR Pictures is the film production and distribution arm of PVR Group, which also owns PVR Cinemas, one of the largest multiplex companies in India.
History
The company has its origin is Priya Cinema in Vasant Vihar in South Delhi, which was b ...
and Bookmyshow-backed theater-on-demand platform Vkaao distributed the film. It was the first mature Japanese animated film to be screened theatrically in India. CJ CGV
CJ CGV (Hangeul: CJ CGV (씨제이 씨지브이)㈜) is the largest multiplex cinema chain in South Korea and also has branches in China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Turkey, Vietnam, and the United States. The fifth largest multiplex theater company in t ...
premiered in South Korea on October 30. Volga Film Company has confirmed it would release the film in Russia on October 31. Thai film distributor Major Group announced the film would open in Thailand on November 7, 2019, but was changed to September 5, 2019. The film has been approved by Beijing's censors and hit Chinese theaters on November 1.
In North America, GKIDS
GKIDS is an American film distributor based in New York with, according to the ''Los Angeles Times'', a focus on "sophisticated, indie" animation. GKIDS releases critically acclaimed, mostly hand-drawn, international films—such as the works o ...
announced that it had acquired the rights of the film and screened an awards-qualifying run in 2019, followed by a theatrical release with Japanese and English-language options on January 17, 2020. The 44th Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
, which was held from September 5 to 15 in 2019, hosted the North American premiere of the film. As part of the "Special Presentation" category, it is eligible to compete for the ''People's Choice'' award. Reportedly Fathom Events
Fathom Events is an entertainment content provider that broadcasts entertainment events in movie theaters throughout the United States including Metropolitan Opera Live in HD, the performing arts, major sporting events, and music concerts.
Th ...
released the film in theaters in the United States on January 15 and 16 as a "Special Fan Preview" with special bonus content. GKIDS screened the film in the US at ''Animation Is Film Festival'' on October 18, 2019, with Makoto Shinkai in attendance. GKIDS also screened it at Anime NYC 2019 on November 17, 2019 as the east coast premiere. It additionally received a one-week IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
and 4DX showing.
In Europe, the 67th San Sebastián International Film Festival
The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; es, Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, eu, Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in th ...
in Spain hosted the European premiere of the film from September 20 to 28 2019. Anime Limited
Anime Limited, also known as All the Anime is a British anime distribution company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It releases anime for British, Irish, French and other European audiences. The company was established in 2012 by Andrew Partridge, b ...
acquired the UK and Ireland rights of the film, premiering the film at Scotland Loves Anime on October 12, 2019, with a theatrical run in Japanese and English-language options from January 17, 2020. In Italy, Dynit
Dynit Srl is one of the main Italian manga and anime publishers. Its head office is in the Cadriano ''frazione'' in Granarolo dell'Emilia, Province of Bologna. and Nexo Digital released the film theatrically on October 14, 2019. Selecta Visión has licensed it in Spain and screened the film on November 29, 2019. In France, the film was released on January 8, 2020 by Anime Limited and BAC Films. In Germany, the film was released on January 16, 2020 by Universum Film. In Portugal, the film was released on February 20, 2020 by Big Picture Films.
In Australia and New Zealand, Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...
acquired the rights of the film and began screening it theatrically from August 22, 2019, with encore screenings of the English dub from February 13, 2020.
In the Middle East, Front Row Filmed Entertainment announced that the film will be released on September 10, 2020.
Home media
The film was released on Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in Japan on May 27, 2020. A collectors edition included a 4K UHD Disc with English and Chinese subtitles. The film was released digitally in North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
on August 4, 2020, with a subsequent release on Blu-ray and DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on September 15, 2020, and a limited edition 4K UHD following on November 17, 2020. This film is currently streaming on HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
, a streaming service by AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
's WarnerMedia
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
.
In Japan, the film sold physical home video
Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...
units in twelve days by 7 June 2020, including 111,403 Blu-ray units and 46,347 DVD units. In the United States, the film grossed from Blu-ray and DVD sales, . In the United Kingdom, where it was the first anime to receive a 4K home video release, it was 2020's second best-selling foreign language film
World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive de ...
on physical home video formats (just below ''Parasite'').
Reception
Box office
During its initial screening in 359 theaters and 448 screens in Japan, ''Weathering with You'' sold 1,159,020 tickets to earn 1,643,809,400 (approx $15.22 million) in its first three days. It was reported that ''Weathering with You'' surpassed Shinkai's previous film, ''Your Name'', which earned 1,277,960,000 (about $12.51 million at the time) in its first three days of screening, earning 28.6% more. By August 25, 2019, it had sold eight million tickets and earned 10.73 billion (about $101 million). By September 9, 2019, it had earned 12 billion and became the highest-grossing film of 2019 in Japan. By October 2, 2019, the film had sold over tickets in Japan, after 75 days on the market. By October 20, 2019, it had sold tickets and grossed in Japan. , the film has grossed () in Japan, and became the thirteenth highest-grossing film of all time in Japan.
In China, the film had sold 8,985,208 tickets and grossed in its first 17 days on the market, by November 19, 2019. By the end of November 2019, the film had grossed () in China. In Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, it grossed () and became the highest-grossing anime film in Singapore. In the United States and Canada, the film has grossed $7,798,743, . As of July 2021, the film grossed over worldwide.
Critical response
Critics have given ''Weathering with You'' a generally positive response. On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has an approval rating of based on reviews from critics, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "Beautifully animated and narratively engaging, ''Weathering with You'' further establishes writer-director Makoto Shinkai as a singularly talented filmmaker." On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score of 72 out of 100 based on reviews from 30 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
Brian Ashcraft of Kotaku
''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier.
History
...
praised the film, saying; "in ''Weathering with You'', the connection to real-world weather seems muted and like a missed opportunity. Weather in Japan has long been predictable. But in the past few years, Japanese weather, like weather all over the world, has gotten increasingly strange, relentless and dangerous. In the movie, it’s mentioned how the weather has been changing, but it’s in relation to how spring and summer have become less enjoyable for kids in Japan. There’s nothing about how dangerous this weather has become. And even with the movie shows the power of weather, the impact is underplayed. but later wrote "the biggest problem that ''Weathering with You'' has is this: it’s the follow up to ''Your Name''". Daryl Harding, writing for Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...
News, praised the world-building aspect of the film, stating that Shinkai has his finger on the pulse of modern Tokyo's atmosphere, but criticized the similarity between ''Weathering with You'' and ''Your Name''. Kim Morrissy of ''Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
'' also gave the film a generally positive review, praising its visuals and use of weather to convey the story's metaphor, but criticizing the execution in the second half of the film; she wrote that "Shinkai was evidently constrained by the need to fit his story into a particular template, one that didn't seem to fit the plot this time around". Twwk, reviewing the film for Beneath the Tangles, was mostly positive as well, writing; "The movie isn’t as emotionally powerful as ''Your Name'' due to a screenplay that plays too loose (and lazy) to earn its huge moments, but it’s still heartfelt."
Ollie Barder, writing for Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
, described the animation of ''Weathering with You'' as "incredible" and recognized its ability to bring "Tokyo to life in a uniquely palpable way". Later, he praised Shinkai for his way of depicting "wildlife and naturalistic vistas". James Marsh from South China Morning Post
The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...
praised the film for its animation, but criticized it for its lack of "clarity of vision seen in ''Your Name''". He described the plot as more straightforward than that of ''Your Name'', but said it has some unanswered and "dangling" plot threads. A review by Alicia Haddick for Otaquest praised the film's attempts to differentiate itself from Makoto Shinkai's past work and praised its animation, story and music, but said that its reliance on the structure of his last film hurt the movie overall, stating that "it's impossible to discuss this film without the specter of ''Your Name'' hanging over your shoulder". Andrew Paredes, writing for ABS-CBN News
ABS-CBN Integrated News and Current Affairs, known on-air as ABS-CBN News (formerly known as ''ABS-CBN News and Public Affairs'' and later ''ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs''), is the news and current affairs production and distribution divisi ...
, praised the film's characters, story, themes, and Makoto Shinkai's directing, saying; "The effusive emotion and Shinto mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
rubbing up nicely against real-world concerns. And then there’s the animation: Shinkai has outdone himself with this follow-up, presenting Tokyo not just with detailed fidelity, but also with a glow that suggests a lush, lambert inner life." Terence Toh, writing for The Star
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, praised the film's characters and story, saying; "''Weathering With You'' boasts of wonderful visual and likeable characters. The story is also right as rain."
Awards and nominations
The film was selected Japan's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards
The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 ...
, but it failed to make the shortlist. It also received four Annie Award
The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...
nominations including Best Independent Animated Feature, which makes it the third anime film tying with ''Spirited Away
is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film, and Mitsubishi and distrib ...
'' and ''Millennium Actress
is a 2001 Japanese animated drama film co-written and directed by Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse. Loosely based on the lives of actresses Setsuko Hara and Hideko Takamine, it tells the story of two documentary filmmakers investigating the ...
'' to have four nominations; the highest for an anime film at the Annies. The film won the Best Animated Feature Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
award at the 13th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (ASPA) in Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It received the Audience Award along with Zabou Breitman and Elea Gobbe-Mevellec's '' The Swallows of Kabul'' film at the Animation Is Film Festival in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
Adaptations
A novel adaption, with the same name, was written concurrently with production of the film by the director, Makoto Shinkai. On April 30, 2019, he announced through Twitter that he had finished writing it. It was released in print and in digital format by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko Kadokawa may refer to:
*Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group
**Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker
**Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publi ...
on July 18, 2019. More than 99,000 copies were sold in the first week and it took first place in the Oricon weekly library ranking on July 29. By August 16, 318,000 copies were sold, making it the first novel in the library this year to exceed 300,000 sales. By September 10, it sold over 650,000 copies in successive editions. On October 24, 2019, Yen Press
Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published ''Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...
announced that they had licensed the novel for North American release, in print and in digital format, on December 17.
In addition, a children's book adaptation for children, elementary school and junior high school students, was released on August 9, 2019. It sold 13,000 copies in the first week and took first place in the "Children's Books" genre in Oricon weekly library ranking.
A manga adaptation drawn by Watari Kubota began serialization on July 25, 2019, in Kodansha
is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...
's ''Monthly Afternoon
is a Japanese monthly ''seinen'' manga anthology published by Kodansha under the ''Afternoon'' line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of January 25, 1986. ''Afternoon'' has spawned many successful manga series such as ...
'' magazine. It was announced that the manga would have a colored opening page. The manga finished on August 25, 2020.
Gallery
See also
* List of highest-grossing animated films
Included in the list are charts of the top box-office earners, a chart of high-grossing animated films by the calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest-grossing animated film record, and a chart of the highest-grossing animate ...
* List of highest-grossing anime films
Films made in Japan produce revenue through various sources; the lists below only consider box office earnings at cinemas, not other sources of income such as merchandising or home video. The lists include both anime and live-action films produc ...
* List of highest-grossing films in Japan
References
External links
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* at CoMix Wave Films
is a Japanese animation film studio and distribution company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The studio is known for its anime feature films, short films, and television commercials, particularly those made by director Makoto Shinkai. It was fou ...
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2019 animated films
2019 films
Japanese animated feature films
2019 anime films
Animated teen films
Anime with original screenplays
CoMix Wave Films films
Films about orphans
Films about runaways
Films about weather hazards
Films directed by Makoto Shinkai
Films with screenplays by Makoto Shinkai
Films set in 2021
Films set in 2024
Films set in Tokyo
IMAX films
Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year winners
Japanese animated fantasy films
Japanese teen films
Novels set in Tokyo
Toho animated films
4DX films