‘The Boy and the Heron’ Streaming Release Date Set on Max

Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning “The Boy and the Heron” will make its U.S. streaming debut on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max in September.

The Studio Ghibli film will be available starting Friday, Sept. 6, exclusively on Max in the U.S. The hand-drawn, semi-autobiographical animated movie from Miyazaki is the first feature film in 10 years that he both wrote and directed. “The Boy and the Heron” joins the rest of the Studio Ghibli library on Max as part of the streamer’s exclusive multiyear U.S. deal extension announced earlier this year.

Outside the U.S. and Japan, “The Boy and the Heron” will be available on Netflix under a renewal inked this spring for the entire Studio Ghibli film catalog. Netflix has not yet set a premiere date for “The Boy and the Heron.”

“The Boy and the Heron” English-language version features the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh. The film was produced by Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki and features a musical score from Miyazaki’s longtime collaborator Joe Hisaishi. It’s the highest-grossing film to date for international distributor GKids, with a domestic box-office haul of $46.8 million.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis: “After losing his mother during the war, young Mahito moves to his family’s estate in the countryside. There, a series of mysterious events lead him to a secluded and ancient tower, home to a mischievous gray heron. When Mahito’s new stepmother disappears, he follows the gray heron into the tower, and enters a fantastic world shared by the living and the dead. As he embarks on an epic journey with the heron as his guide, Mahito must uncover the secrets of this world, and the truth about himself.”

“The Boy and the Heron” won the prize for animated feature film at this year’s Academy Awards, marking Miyazaki’s second Oscar after his win for “Spirited Away.” He also accepted an honorary Academy Award in 2014 for “exceptional contributions to cinema.”

Max has been the U.S. home to Studio Ghibli’s catalog since 2020, when the service originally launched as HBO Max. The deal extension with GKids will keep nearly two dozen Studio Ghibli films — including “My Neighbor Totoro,” “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” “Ponyo,” “Spirited Away” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” — exclusively on Max in the U.S. for at least the next several years.

Max has been the U.S. home to Studio Ghibli’s catalog since 2020, when the service originally launched as HBO Max.

Watch the trailer for “The Boy and the Heron”: