It was released by Toho in Japan on July 16, 2011, becoming the highest-grossing Japanese film of the year. An English version of the film was produced by GKIDS; it is scheduled to be released in North America in March 2013.
I will definitely watch this in theaters (December 21 for me).
As you probably have figured out by now, the movie is made by Studio Ghibli.
The trailer got me curious about the 'ghost' boy, as well as the plot. The theme song is pleasant to hear. I'm a little bit disappointed that the theatres here don't show anime movies. Adding it to my 'To Watch' List.
I've been dying to see this for over a year, will definitely buy it when it comes out in the UK to add to my Ghibli collection. Looks like Goro did a better job this time.