21 Spirited Away Facts for the Film’s 25th Anniversary
Updated: 7 November 2026
On 20 July 2001, a 10-year-old girl walked through a dark tunnel and into one of the most successful animated films ever made. Twenty-five years later, Spirited Away is still selling out cinemas, still topping “best anime film” lists, and still introducing new viewers to Studio Ghibli.
To mark the anniversary, here are 21 Spirited Away facts, from box office numbers to the places that inspired the bathhouse. We’ve left out the popular myths that don’t stand up to checking.
Release and box office facts
1. It opened in Japan on 20 July 2001. Toho released it, as it does most Ghibli films.
2. It earned ¥31.68 billion in Japan. That’s the figure after re-releases, as of 2020. For context, the original run alone passed ¥30 billion.
3. It was Japan’s highest-grossing film for 19 years. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train finally beat it in December 2020.
4. Worldwide, it has grossed about US$396 million, counting all releases, including later re-releases in China and elsewhere.
5. Its North American start was tiny. In 2002 it opened in just 26 US cinemas and made about $450,000 that first weekend. Its lifetime North American total is now over $14.8 million.
6. Its 25th-anniversary US run was five days long. Studio Ghibli Fest 2026 brought it back from 17 to 21 October in English-dub and subtitled versions, as the closing film of the series. See our Studio Ghibli Fest 2026 page for how that year’s lineup worked.
Awards facts
7. It shared the Golden Bear at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival, the first animated film ever to win the festival’s top prize.
8. It won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003, at the 75th Academy Awards. It was the first non-English-language film to win the category.
9. Miyazaki didn’t attend the Oscars. He later explained he didn’t want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq at the time.
10. It took 21 years for Miyazaki to win a second Oscar. That came in 2024 with The Boy and the Heron. Wondering what’s next for him? We track it on our Miyazaki next movie page.
Story and character facts
11. Chihiro was inspired by real children. Miyazaki wrote the film for the 10-year-old daughters of his friends, including the daughter of Nippon TV producer Seiji Okuda. He said he wanted a heroine girls that age could see themselves in.
12. Chihiro’s name is part of the plot. Yubaba takes most of the characters of her name (千尋) and leaves her with “Sen” (千), which also means “thousand.” The Japanese title, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, plays on that.
13. Haku is a river spirit, the Kohaku River. It was filled in and built over, a quiet comment on how Japan paved over its natural rivers.
14. No-Face grew during production. Miyazaki reportedly gave the character a much bigger role mid-production, when the story needed a stronger middle section.
15. Yubaba and Zeniba are twins, and the same actress, Mari Natsuki, voices both in Japanese.
Real-world inspiration facts
16. The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei, Tokyo, is a confirmed influence. Miyazaki loved its old buildings, and parts of the town around the bathhouse draw on them.
17. Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama is often named as a model for the bathhouse. It’s widely cited by fans and tourism boards, but Ghibli has never officially named a single real bathhouse.
18. Jiufen in Taiwan is a myth. It’s one of the most shared “facts” online, but Miyazaki has denied using the town as a model. The resemblance is a coincidence of style.
Music and production facts
19. Joe Hisaishi wrote the score, including “One Summer’s Day” (“Ano Natsu e”), now a favourite on YouTube piano and study-music channels. Hisaishi is still performing it live. He’s touring with Ghibli music in November 2026, with dates on our Ghibli events calendar.
20. The ending song, “Itsumo Nando Demo” (“Always With Me”), was written and sung by Youmi Kimura, originally for a different, cancelled Miyazaki project.
21. Disney handled the English release, and Pixar’s John Lasseter oversaw the English dub, which helped the film reach US audiences after its small start.
Spirited Away facts by the numbers
| Stat | Figure |
|---|---|
| Japan release | 20 July 2001 |
| Running time | 125 minutes |
| Japan box office | ¥31.68 billion |
| Worldwide gross | ~US$396 million |
| Original US opening | 26 cinemas, ~$450,000 |
| Years as Japan’s No. 1 film | 19 (2001–2020) |
| Major awards | Golden Bear (2002), Oscar (2003) |
Why Spirited Away still matters at 25
Plenty of 2001 films look dated now. Spirited Away doesn’t, because it never relied on technology to impress. Its themes of work, identity, greed and growing up land as well with a 10-year-old today as they did then. Its music and scenes still turn up all over YouTube and TikTok. And it’s still the film most people mean when they say “my first Ghibli movie.”
Want to find out which character you’d be? Try our Studio Ghibli character quiz, or browse our favourite Studio Ghibli quotes.
Frequently asked questions
When did Spirited Away come out?
20 July 2001 in Japan. It reached US cinemas in September 2002.
How old is Spirited Away?
It turned 25 on 20 July 2026.
How much did Spirited Away make?
About ¥31.68 billion in Japan and roughly US$396 million worldwide.
Is Spirited Away still the highest-grossing film in Japan?
No. It held the record until Demon Slayer: Mugen Train passed it in 2020.
Is the bathhouse based on a real place?
Partly. The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum was a direct influence. The Jiufen, Taiwan link is a myth.
See where Spirited Away sits among every Ghibli release in our Studio Ghibli movies in order guide.
GujoAnimes is an independent fan site and isn’t affiliated with Studio Ghibli.
Sources: Wikipedia: Spirited Away (box office, awards, release) · Koimoi, 6 October 2026 (North American figures) · GKIDS Studio Ghibli Fest 2026 schedule
