Reception
Kiki's Delivery Service opened on July 29, 1989 in Japanese theaters; the total distribution receipts were ¥2,170,000,000 ($18,172,849.38), proving to be quite a financial success and the highest grossing film in Japan of 1989. The Japanese DVD was the best selling anime DVD for June 2001.
Upon the release of the English dub of Kiki's Delivery Service by Disney which theatrical premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 23, 1998. On September 15, 1998, it was released to VHS video, becoming the 8th-most-rented title at Blockbuster stores during the first week of its availability. This video release also sold over a million copies. A few weeks later, Disney released another VHS of the movie, this time with the original Japanese soundtrack and with both English and Japanese subtitles. A Laserdisc version of the English dub was also available at this time. The Region 1 DVD was released on August 16, 2005, alongside Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky. It was again reissued on Region 1 DVD in March 2010 along with My Neighbor Totoro and Castle in the Sky as a tribute to the home release of Ponyo. The version of this 2010 release was slightly edited to match the original Japanese version.
The conservative Christian group Concerned Women for America boycotted Kiki’s Delivery Service screenings and released a press release on May 28, 1998 titled “Disney Reverts to Witchcraft in Japanese Animation”. Calling for a boycott of The Disney Company, the group said the company “is still not family friendly, but continues to have a darker agenda”.
On September 4, 1998, Entertainment Weekly rated it as Video of the Year, and on September 12, 1998, it was the first video release to be reviewed as a normal film on Siskel and Ebert rather than on the "Video Pick of the Week" section. Siskel and Ebert gave it “two thumbs up” and Roger Ebert went on to rank it as one of the best animated films of 1998.
Other reviews were very positive as well. On Rotten Tomatoes, Kiki’s Delivery Service scored a perfect 100% rating, out of a total of twenty reviews.
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