‘Your Name’/'Kimi no Na wa' Becomes Third-Highest Grossing Japanese Film All Time; What’s With All The Hype?

"Your Name" has been proudly dubbed as one of the greatest Japanese box office releases during 2016. Recently, reports surfaced that Makoto Shinkai's 2016 coming-of-age anime film is on the verge of surpassing one of Hayao Miyazaki's classics.

According to CrunchyRoll News, "Your Name" has earned 19.4 billion yen in the Japanese box office, surpassing Princess Mononoke's 19.3 billion from 1997. It additionally reported that the anime streaming service converted its earnings to approximately $173 million USD. With such great statistics, it implies that the film rests as the 6th most popular box office release in all-time Japanese history, beating out such international box office legends such as "Harry Potter" and the "Chamber of Secrets" and "Avatar."

"Your Name" is also on its way to surpass the anime film "Howl's Moving Castle," with just .2 billion yen difference from the 2004 Miyazaki film's number fifth rank on the Japanese national best-seller box office list, as of Nov. 28. As for the film's performance at the Japanese weekend box office during Nov. 26 and Nov. 27, "Your Name" gains second place, after the international film "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" being first. It also defeated the new release such as "Shippu Rondo" and "KanColle: The Movie," giving it a comfortable ranking among both Western and national releases, as CG Mag Online reported.

"Your Name," which is also known as "Kimi no Na wa" in Japanese Language, was originally released on Aug. 26, 2016 after it was screened on July 3 at the US's Anime Expo in Los Angeles. "Your Name" will be coming to home video in 2017 with "English Audio or English Subtitles" provided as licensed by Funimation in the West. Canada will soon premiere the film, with "Your Name" becoming an Oscar nominee, according to Funimation.

According to Anime News Network, the film was bestowed with three standing ovations from the crowd during the Anime Expo. With great reviews and the continuing hype among the audience of all ages, "Your Name" is expected to easily top anime sales and gain positive viewership in the West.

"Your Name" is about a young woman and man who find themselves swapping bodies, and that is absolutely all you need to know ahead of time.