New York-based film distributor GKIDS announced on Tuesday that it has acquired the North American distribution rights to Studio Ponoc's Mary to Majo no Hana (Mary and the Witch's Flower).

The anime film directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Omoide no Marnie) opened in theaters in Japan on July 8. Although Mary earned more box office revenue on its opening weekend than Marnie's opening weekend in 2014—428 million yen compared to 379 million yen—its cumulative earnings have paced slower than that of Yonebayashi's previous film in subsequent weeks.

Studio Ponoc was founded in 2015 by producer Yoshiaki Nishimura and several animators formerly with Studio Ghibli. The production of Mary to Majo no Hana, which is based on the 1971 children's novel The Little Broomstick by late British novelist Mary Stewart, has also enticed additional former employees of Ghibli to join the new company.

Nishimura also produced Yonebayashi's Marnie and Isao Takahata's Kaguya-hime no Monogatari. GKIDS acquired distribution licenses for both films, and each earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

GKIDS plans to bring Mary to Majo no Hana to North American theaters in the winter. Oricon also previously reported that the film will be screened in 155 countries and territories.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter