Characters in Sprited Away at Donguri Republic in Hong Kong Photo: IC

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli's nearly two-decades-old animated film Spirited Away made its Chinese mainland cinema debut on Friday, topping the single day box office with 54 million yuan ($7.86 million).

First shown in Japan in 2001, Spirited Away won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film and a Golden Bear at the 52^nd Berlin International Film Festival.

Chinese fans's passion for this classic work has not faded over the years, the film has a 9.6/10 on ticketing platform Maoyan, tying with Pixar's animated film Up for the highest rated animated film on the platform.

On Sina Weibo, the film ranked twice on the trending list on Friday as netizens shared their love for the film.

Many netizens expressed joy at finally being able to see the film in theaters. Other fans raved over the small details Miyazaki and his team put in the film and how much easier they were to spot on the big screen.