It didn't flummox the US. It flummoxed Miramax, which is what the article is saying. Miramax wanted Mononoke Hime to be a 90s Disney film, and when they couldn't cut the film into one, they gave up on it. It really highlights how badly Hollywood used to gatekeep entertainment by owning the distribution tools.

You can thank Netflix for changing that. I worked in Hollywood when Netflix rolled out House of Cards, and it was nothing less than a revolution for the execs at the time. Netflix terrified them. Before then, every entrenched name in Hollywood mocked the internet as something consumers would never prefer for movies. However, Netflix created a place for big budget, niche content in a way that forced Hollywood to sit up and take notice. If Netflix hadn't happened, nothing would've changed.

And thank God. I remember seeing Mononoke Hime in the theater, and it was my first introduction to anime. It was a breath of fresh air for me in terms of entertainment. I was so tired of western film at that point and it made me aware that there was so much more out there if I was willing to look for it. Nowadays, it hardly requires looking.