Spirited Away, the Hayao Miyazaki animation that has led the Japanese box office since its release on July 20, has set a new all-time admissions record for the territory, with 16,878,000 tickets sold as of September 26. The previous record was held by Titanic with 16,831,000 admissions after 62 weeks on release. The Miyazaki film surpassed this total after only 10 weeks on release and is on track to overtake Titantic's all-time box office record of $220m (Y26bn) sometime in early November.

Commenting on the admissions record, Toho officials said that Spirited Away, which "appeals to all ages and all regions of the country -- it's a film that the Japanese people have taken to their hearts."

Studio Ghibli and parent company Tokuma are reportedly in negotiation with several Hollywood studios for US rights to the film. The studio's last record-setting blockbuster, Princess Mononoke, was distributed in the United States by Miramax as part of a deal with Walt Disney Studios.