Funimation Films has confirmed that Japanese film Your Name. has made the official consideration list in the Best Animated Feature category for the 89th Annual Academy Awards. The box office hit will be vying for one of five nomination spots in the 2017 Oscars race. Funimation acquired North American distribution rights earlier this year from Toho Co. Ltd. in Japan.
Your Name. (Kimi no Na wa) is the latest film from director Makoto Shinkai, who has twice been nominated for the Annecy Cristal (Children Who Chase Lost Voices in 2012 and A Gathering of Cats in 2008). This new success won the Best Animated Feature award at Sitges and has to date earned over 17.9 billion yen (approx. $170 million USD) since it opened August 26 — making it the highest grossing film of the year.
The film is also the first anime feature to gross more than 10 billion yen at the Japanese box office that was not directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Your Name. has already surpassed Miyazaki’s Ponyo (2008) and The Wind Rises (2013), and is currently the seventh highest grossing film of all time in Japan.
“We’re thrilled to have Your Name. on the list of contenders for a Best Animated Feature nomination,” said Gen Fukunaga, CEO and founder of Funimation. “It is a masterpiece of animation from director Makoto Shinkai and is definitely worthy of Oscar consideration. We look forward to releasing it in theaters in 2017.”
Your Name. will have a qualifying theatrical run in Los Angeles December 2-8 at the Laemmle Music Hall, and will open in select theaters in the U.S. and Canada early next year.
Synopsis:
Your Name. is a beautiful story about time, fate and the hearts of two young souls. The day the stars fell, two lives changed forever. High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers, living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body and he in hers. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen randomly and the two must adjust their lives around each other. Yet somehow, it works. They build a connection and communicate by leaving notes, messages, and more importantly, an imprint. Tugging at the string of fate, they try to find a way to each other. But distance isn’t the only thing keeping them apart. Is their bond strong enough to face the cruel irony of time? Or is their meeting nothing more than a wish upon the stars?
