Spirited Away taps into Chinese nostalgia

The animated film Spirited Away is becoming a huge box-office success on the Chinese mainland 18 years after its original release in Japan, drawing in a legion of nostalgic moviegoers who once watched the film from non-official sources.

The Hayao Miyazaki-directed film took in 192.7 million yuan ($28 million) after three days of screening in China, more than double of 90.7 million yuan taken in by runner-up Toy Story 4, according to the China Movie Data Information Network. Both films debuted on the Chinese mainland on Friday.

The Oscar-winning fantasy film tells the coming-of-age story of a young girl, Chihiro, who ventures into a spirit world to save her parents who have been turned into pigs. Many Chinese had already watched the film via DVD or online, but that did not stop them from returning to the cinemas.