Makoto Shinkai’s ‘Suzume.’ Image © Suzume Film Partners
Sony’s Crunchyroll has acquired the global distribution rights to anime hitmaker Makoto Shinkai‘s much-anticipated next feature.
The anime streaming service will co-release the unnamed project with Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide, except in Asia, with India being considered part of the Western regions. Crunchyroll stated on Tuesday that the film’s title, plot specifics, and anticipated timing are all being held in secrecy for the time being.
Despite the scant information about the new feature, Shinkai remains one of anime’s most prominent blockbuster creators.
His groundbreaking animated feature film, “Your Name,” earned a staggering $358 million globally in 2016, marking a significant milestone in the international growth of anime. Following with $193 million in 2019, and then in 2022 Suzume earned about $323 million. All three features claim high positions within the list of the highest-grossing anime films ever.
The new film will follow the distribution route of “Suzume“, a movie that was handled jointly by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures.
The film debuted in the main competition at the Berlin International Film Festival and later received a Golden Globe nomination for best animated feature, following its success with over $10 million in U.S. box office revenue.
Shinkai, 53, has released a feature roughly every three years — “Your Name“ in 2016, “Weathering With You“ in 2019, “Suzume“ in 2022 — and anticipation has been building among anime fandom over the past four years about what his next work might be. The director broke his silence in a New Year’s social media message in January, writing that he would finally be able to share concrete details about his next film sometime this year.
For Crunchyroll, the deal extends a theatrical run that has made the Sony-owned company the dominant Western distributor of Japanese animation — it claims 12 of the 20 top-grossing anime releases in U.S. history, including “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle“, last year’s global phenomenon.
For Crunchyroll, this deal extends a theatrical run that has solidified the company as the leading Western distributor of Japanese animation—claiming 12 of the top 20 highest-grossing anime releases in U.S. history, including Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, a global sensation from the year prior.