Top 10 Highest Grossing Anime Films of All Time

Ghibli was always going to make the cut, but it’s bizarre that among its catalogue, Miyazaki’s answer to The Borrower’s seems to have such a lasting effect on filmgoers. Living alongside humans in secret spaces, Arrietty and her tiny family must seek out a new place to live when their larger neighbours discover their existence. It’s a sweet, harmless romp with some of the best animated greenery you’ll ever see. And hey, if you listened to the British dub, you’d even hear the cinematic debut of Tom Holland. Put that together and you’ve got yourself 145,570,827 dollars’ worth of earnings.

To many, it’s the pinnacle of Ghibli’s greatness, to others it’s the definitive pro-environmental narrative, and to the rest it’s a chance to see San and Mama Wolf kick a whole lot of tail. Whatever your reason for re-visiting this magical tale of nature vs human greed, back in its glory days it was doing rather well for itself, hitting a total of 169,785,629 dollars. While’s it’s probably not the kind of green that San wanted, hope she can take solace that her movie did a hell of a job dominating the film industry and people’s wallets.

Try as they might, there’s little to no chance that Ash and company are going to be able to top their debut feature. Say what you will about Mewtwo Strikes Back, this was released during the height of Poke-fever, and the results are reflected in its earnings. 172,744,662 dollars, all thanks to the power of the Pika. Between this and the billions that snagged thanks to Pokémon GO, is it any wonder that these little bastards refuse to go away? We’ll hit movie number fifty before you know it!

Makoto Shinkai’s most recent foray into the world of animated movies may not have garnered as much success as that OTHER box officer breaker he made a couple years earlier, but no one can argue with the results; it’s all sunshine for this stormy tale of love and weather manipulation. Even if it felt like it was treading familiar ground with its teenage cast embroiled in the most bizarre of romantic circumstances, the 193,186,879 dollars it earned proves that fans have faith in Shinkai’s work. Let’s see if his next project winds up topping the list as well!

This is all you, older Japanese audiences! Your love and nostalgia for this robot cat from the future was so intense that this flick not only reportedly left viewers in floods of tears, but also secured it 196,457,823 dollars’ worth of earnings. That feline has some kinda talent, and it’s not just inspiring multiple generations with its tales of friendships, sci-fi and whimsy. Just wait, give it a few more decades, and Doraemon will be back to clean house again with the descendants of those very same moviegoers!

Put together Miyazaki and The Little Mermaid and what do you get? A tsunami’s worth of creativity, charm, and a box office total of 203,204,882 dollars. It may fall just a little short of what Disney did with their adaptation, but audiences still found themselves enchanted with Ponyo and her quest to get herself a slice of ham at all costs, even if it meant bringing an army of mutant fish along for the ride! Not even Liam Neeson’s “thrilling” performance is enough to deter from the film’s overall sweetness.

For many, this was the Ghibli film that started it all, that became the gateway to the cinematic treasure trove Miyazaki created. What’s not to love? Castles with legs, witches of the wastes, talking fireplaces, Sophie and Howl’s unorthodox yet riveting relationship, everything just fell into place here. Audiences seemed to agree since all that Miyazaki magic earned the film 235,184,110 dollars along the way. It may have even had the potential to be Studio Ghibli’s golden goose…if it weren’t overshadowed by a certain older sibling.

It’s almost unprecedented what Makoto Shinkai was able to do. A body swap romance with time travel elements? Surely that was destined to be some mediocre venture at best. And yet not only did it go on to become one of the most celebrated animated movies in modern memory, but also happened to gross a staggering 380,140 500 dollars. The eruption of popularity not only led it to becoming a worldwide phenomenon but helped reintroduce anime films back into the mainstream, and in doing so likely assisted others find their feet!

For the longest time, this was it. The Queen. The top dog. A piece of cinematic brilliance that in many people’s eyes still stands as the greatest of its genre. Chihiro’s journey to the world of spirits remains a breath-taking experience, one that not only took away an Academy Award but also rocked up a record-breaking total of 395,580,000 dollars. It raised the bar in too many ways to name, and for the longest time was considered untouchable. In terms of its animation, storytelling and legacy, that may be true, but as for highest gross…

They did it. The crazy bastards actually did it. The stars must have aligned since not only did the manga outdo every other running series under Shounen Jump’s banner in terms of sales, but it also skyrocketed to become the most successful anime film of all time, bringing in over 470,000,000 dollars, and that’s just at the time our we’re writing this! Chances are the money is going to keep pouring in faster than Zenitsu using Thunder Breathing. Demon Slayer hype truly Is a frightening thing.