DENVER – March 28, 2017 – Following the success of the “Spirited Away” and “Princess Mononoke” cinema events, GKIDS, the acclaimed distributor of multiple Academy Award®-nominated animated features, and Fathom Events, the leading distributor of event cinema, are proud to announce a partnership to bring the biggest series of anime titles to U.S audiences throughout 2017. The series features Studio Ghibli’s revered animated classics, a selection of GKIDS new release titles and an ongoing animated short film mini-festival.

The 2017 partnership kicks off with the iconic “My Neighbor Totoro,” from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, on Sunday, June 25 and Monday, June 26. “Totoro” is the first title in STUDIO GHIBLI FEST, a six film monthly series which continues with “Kiki's Delivery Service,” “Castle In The Sky,” “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” “Howl’s Moving Castle” and a special cinema-run of the Academy Award-winning “Spirited Away” timed for Halloween.

GKIDS is also partnering with Fathom Events to release “Mune: Guardian of the Moon,” from the producers of “The Little Prince,” for the first time in U.S. cinemas. Two additional new release titles are anticipated as part of the 2017 GKIDS/Fathom lineup.

All GKIDS events will include GKIDS MINIFEST, an ongoing festival of award-winning short animated films from around the world, as part of the exclusive event experience.

Tickets for these titles can be purchased beginning Friday, April 28, 2017 online by visiting www.ghiblifest.com, www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Moviegoers throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy these events in select movie theaters. A complete list of theater locations will be available April 28 on the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

“We are extremely proud to be partnering again with GKIDS to bring these beloved animated films to the big screen, including some of Hayao Miyazaki’s most iconic works,” Fathom Events CEO John Rubey said. “Fans across the nation will now have the unique opportunity to experience these brilliant films as they were meant to be seen, on the big screen with full cinema sound, and together with their friends and families.”

“We are thrilled to be expanding our successful partnership with Fathom to bring Studio Ghibli and other GKIDS films to movie theaters nationwide,” said GKIDS CEO Eric Beckman. “Together we are creating an exciting and unique cinema event experience for Studio Ghibli fans to come celebrate their favorite films, while introducing wide new audiences to some of the most amazing animated films of all time.”

“My Neighbor Totoro” (1988) – Sunday, June 25 and Monday, June 26

STUDIO GHIBLI FEST kicks off with one of Studio Ghibli’s most iconic films (and characters) in this family classic from legendary director Hayao Miyazaki. Two young girls, Satsuki and Mei, move with their father to a new house in the countryside. But country life is not so simple as it seems, as they soon discover the house and nearby woods are full of strange and delightful creatures, most notably a family of Totoros, gigantic but gentle bear-like forest spirits that can only be seen by children.

“Kiki's Delivery Service” (1989) – Sunday, July 23 and Monday, July 24

This is the beloved coming-of-age story of a resourceful young witch who uses her broom to create a delivery service, only to lose her gift of flight in a moment of self-doubt. It is tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon and set out into the wide world to learn their craft. When that night comes for Kiki, she embarks on her life journey with her chatty black cat, Jiji, landing the next morning in a picturesque seaside village, where a bakery owner hires her to make deliveries.

“Castle In The Sky” (1986) – Sunday, August 27 and Monday, August 28

This title is a rollicking adventure about a young girl with a mysterious crystal pendant, who falls out of the sky and into the arms and life of young Pazu – a consummate mechanic obsessed with aircrafts. Together they search for Laputa, the floating island in the sky, and site of a long-dead civilization promising enormous wealth and power to those who can unlock its secrets. But greedy pirates, spies and the army are also all in hot pursuit!

“Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” (1984) – Sunday, September 24 and Monday, September 25

There are few films, animated or otherwise, of such sweeping scope and grandeur as this one. Set in a devastated future world decimated by atmospheric poisons and swarming with gigantic insects, Nausicaä is a young princess, both brave and innocent, whose love for all living things and passionate determination to understand the processes of nature lead her into terrible danger, sacrifice and eventual triumph.

“Spirited Away” (2001) – Sunday, October 29 and Monday, October 30

Following the smash-hit 15th anniversary celebration, the Academy Award-winning masterpiece “Spirited Away” returns to movie theaters as part of this unique Studio Ghibli celebration, just in time for Halloween. Chihiro thinks she is on another boring trip with her parents, but when they stop at a village that is not all that it seems, her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, and Chihiro is whisked into a world of fantastic spirits, shape-shifting dragons and a witch who never wants to see her leave. She must call on the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world.

“Howl’s Moving Castle” (2004) – Sunday, November 26 and Monday, November 27

“Howl’s Moving Castle” is an acclaimed fantasy based on the novel of the same name, and the second Studio Ghibli film (after “Spirited Away”) to be nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. Sophie, an average teenage girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. However, after this chance meeting, the young girl is turned into a 90-year old woman by the vain and conniving Witch of the Waste. Embarking on an incredible adventure to lift the curse, she finds refuge in Howl’s magical moving castle.

“Mune: Guardian of the Moon” (2017) – Dates TBD

Plunge into a world of wonder, magic and mythology in this fantastic animated adventure from the producers of “The Little Prince,” hailed by critics as \"stunning! Like a made-for-children Avatar!\" (Le Monde) In a land divided between the realms of day and night, the Guardian of the Sun keeps watch over the sun maintaining light and warmth to all of humanity. The Guardian of the Moon lures the moon to the Land of Darkness to provide a balance to the sun and supply the world with dreams. At the momentous ceremony to appoint the two new guardians, the unexpected occurs: the heir apparent is passed over, and the title Guardian of the Moon is bestowed on Mune, a small forest faun who seems wholly unprepared to take on such a weighty responsibility. Now it is up to unlikely hero Mune and his friend Glim – a headstrong young girl with wax for skin – to save the sun and restore order to the world.