The film was released in Japan on July 12, 1997, and in the United States on October 29, 1999. It was a critical and commercial blockbuster, becoming the highest-grossing film in Japan of 1997, and also held Japan's box office record for domestic films until 2001's "Spirited Away", another Miyazaki film. It was dubbed into English with a script by Neil Gaiman, and initially distributed in North America by Miramax, where it sold well on DVD and video, despite a poor box office performance; however it greatly increased Ghibli's popularity and influence outside Japan.