Toho: Hayao Miyazaki's How Do You Live? Film Will Not Sell Pamphlet on Opening Day

TOHO announced on Twitter on Monday that the theater pamphlets for Hayao Miyazaki's latest feature film Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka (tentative English title: How Do You Live?) will not be sold on opening day, and it will instead go on sale at a later date at theaters and online via mail delivery.

The film will open simultaneously on IMAX with its general release in Japan on July 14. The film will be the first Studio Ghibli film to get a simultaneous IMAX release. The film will also screen in Dolby Atmos, Dolby Cinema, and DTS:X starting on July 14.

Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki revealed last month that the film will not have any trailers prior to its release. The film will also not have any TV spots or newspaper ads.

Miyazaki is credited with the original work, in addition to directing the film and writing the script. So far, the studio has not revealed a plot summary, a voice cast, or most of the film's staff.

Miyazaki derived the film from Genzaburō Yoshino's 1937 novel How Do You Live?. He added that this book is a story that has great meaning to the protagonist of his film.

Algonquin Young Readers released the book in English in October 2021, and it describes the novel:

HOW DO YOU LIVE? begins with fifteen-year-old Copper, who has recently suffered the loss of his father, gazing out over his hometown of Tokyo, watching the thousands of people below, and beginning to ponder life's big questions. How many people are in the world? What do their lives look like? Are humans really made of molecules? The book moves between Copper's story and his uncle's journal entries, in which he gives advice and helps Copper learn pivotal truths about the way the world works. Over the course of a year in his life, Copper, like his namesake Copernicus, embarks on a journey of philosophical enlightenment, and uses his discoveries about the heavens, earth and human nature to determine the best way to live. Yoshino perfectly captures the beauty and strangeness of pre-war Japan – the changing of the seasons, the fried tofu and taiyaki stands, and the lush landscapes, as Copper explores the city on his bike and learns from friends and family what really matters most in life.

Miyazaki officially revealed the film in 2017. Suzuki reported in April 2017 that Miyazaki had been drawing the storyboards for the project since July 2016.

Source: TOHO Movie's Twitter account via Yaraon!, Game Watch