Acclaimed filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki‘s Japanese film The Boy and the Heron flew to a record-breaking $12.8 million opening, making it the first original anime title in history to top the North American box office chart.

The whimsical movie wisely chose to open on a weekend when there were no new wide releases from the major Hollywood studios. The first and second weekends of December are generally quiet as the studios prepare to unwrap their big Christmas films.

This year, the holiday action gets underway in earnest next weekend when Warner Bros. opens Wonka, although it debuted in select markets overseas this weekend to a very promising $43.2 million from 37 markets, enough to rank No. 1 on the weekend global weekend chart.

The film earned an A- CinemaScore from American audiences and was fueled by younger adults, with 80 percent of ticket buyers between ages 18 and 34, including 44 percent between ages 25 and 34. According to PostTrak’s exit data, more than a quarter of the audience was Asian/other, well above the norm.

Moviegoers in North America have the option to watch the film with English subtitles or a dubbed version. The A-list actors voicing the dubbed version include Christian Bale, Gemma Chan, Willem Defoe, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh. The original Japanese voice cast includes Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura and Takuya Kimura.

Miyazaki’s movie — which has earned north of $85 million in Japan — had a high-profile presence on the fall film festival circuit, including becoming the first animated title to open the Toronto Film Fest.