Studio Ghibli Distributor Champions ‘Princess Mononoke’ Box Office at ‘A Time When Technology Tries to Replicate Humanity’

variety.com:

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Gkids, the North American distributor for Studio Ghibli films, is using a statement about the box office for a “Princess Mononoke” re-release to perhaps make an oblique commentary on the recent release of an AI tool that replicates the style of the iconic animation studio.

A new 4K restoration of the 1997 Studio Ghibli classic “Princess Mononoke,” from Hayao Miyazaki, was Thursday on Imax across 330 screens.

The animated feature made $1.2 million in previews ahead of its Friday opening, according to Gkids. In a statement, Chance Huskey, VP of distribution for GKids, said, “In a time when technology tries to replicate humanity, we are thrilled that audiences value a theatrical experience that respects and celebrates Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s masterpiece in all its cinematic hand-drawn glory.” The statement comes just one day after OpenAI launched its latest image generation technology, which quickly went viral as users started to apply the legendary studio’s style to their vacation snapshots and family portraits.

But many in the animation and creative communities spoke out against idea of the time-consuming art of animation being replaced by an automated, anonymous technology.