Japan Princess Mononoke returned 7.2× its production cost, earning $169.0M against a $23.5M budget — one of the highest-return Japan films in our catalog.
Synopsis
もののけ姫
“The Fate Of The World Rests On The Courage Of One Warrior.”
Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.
Audience Engagement
7,228 audience reviews — more than 100% of Japan films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 96th percentile among Japan films.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #258 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (94th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +1.4 points above the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Adventure productions specifically: #112 of 1,216 (top 9%).
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 2h 14m runtime, production spent $175K per minute on screen and earned $1.3M per minute back.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Princess Mononoke. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
4 sharedDemon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
★ 8.3 · Japan
4 sharedWolf Children
★ 8.2 · Japan
3 sharedJujutsu Kaisen 0
★ 8.2 · Japan
3 sharedA Silent Voice: The Movie
★ 8.4 · Japan
3 sharedDragon Ball Z: Dead Zone
★ 6.7 · Japan
3 sharedInuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time
★ 7.6 · Japan
Other Titles From Studio Ghibli
Adventure + Fantasy in Japan
719 Japan titles in our catalog blend the Adventure and Fantasy genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Princess Mononoke itself).
The 1996–1998 Japan Window
Among 144 Japan films we catalog from this window, Princess Mononoke places #12 — near the top of its class.
The 1990s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 1990s in Japan, 447 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Princess Mononoke premiered alongside 38 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 38 other Japan films in 1997.
The 1108th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on Princess Mononoke, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- leprosy · 3
- feral child · 3
- environmentalism · 3
- human vs nature · 2
- wild boar · 1
- territory · 1
- deforestation · 1
- industrialization · 1
- rural area · 26
- spirit · 20
- nature · 15
- historical fiction · 12
- wolf · 8
- decapitation · 8
- anime · 711
- friendship · 134
- adult animation · 101
- fight · 60
- demon · 45
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | Studio Ghibli, Nibariki, dentsu Music And Entertainment, TNDG, Tokuma Shoten |
| Runtime | 2h 14m |
| Release Date | July 12, 1997 |
| IMDb | tt0119698 |