On the day that it debuted, Gedo Senki (Tales From Earthsea), the first anime feature from Goro Miyazaki, the son of famed director Hayao Miyazaki, topped Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest at the Japanese box office.  According to Nausicaa Net, Toho, which is distributing Gedo Senki, expects the film will earn about 10 billion yen during its Japanese run, which puts it about in the middle of the range in terms of the most recent Studio Ghibli releases, which vary from The Cat Returns, which earned 6 billion yen, at the low end, to Howl's Moving Castle, which earned $19 billion, at the top end.

 

Miyazaki Jr's film is based on The Farthest Shore, the third volume in Ursula K. LeGuin's Tales From Earthsea series, which also inspired a TV adaptation.  Ironically early in his career Hayao Miyazaki wanted to adapt Tales From Earthsea, but was turned down by LeGuin. 

 

The strong opening of Gedo Senki in Japan (as well as the fact that it is based on a well-known fantasy series) should insure a fairly quick arrival in the U.S., though Disney/Buena Vista, which has the rights to all the Studio Ghibli films, tends to take more time in preparing its handful of anime releases than do the American companies that are more exclusively dedicated to releasing anime films and TV series.