Crunchyroll Acquires Makoto Shinkai’s Next Feature Film

Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures' anime division, has secured the worldwide distribution rights for the upcoming film from acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai, creator of "Your Name" and "Suzume." The specifics of the film's name, plot, and release date remain undisclosed. Shinkai's feature film debut came in 2004 with the dystopian drama "The Place Promised in Our Early Days," but it was his 2007 romantic drama "5 Centimeters per Second" that propelled him to acclaim.

He achieved international success with "Your Name" in 2016, a romantic fantasy about a teenage boy and girl who switch bodies, altering each other's lives after discovering their connection spans time and space, ultimately averting a meteor strike in the girl's town. The film earned $400 million globally, setting a record as the highest-grossing Japanese film until "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train" in 2020.

Shinkai's subsequent films, including "Weathering With You" and "Suzume," continued to explore Japan's relationship with natural disasters through young protagonists. "Suzume," released in 2023, grossed $314 million worldwide and marked the first anime film since Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" to compete at the Berlin Film Festival.

Following "Suzume's" success, Crunchyroll played a crucial role in Sony's global theatrical presence, serving as a significant exporter of anime to theaters worldwide. The streaming service also spearheaded "Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle" to a new record as the highest-grossing anime film globally, with $793 million worldwide from territories where Sony and Crunchyroll handled distribution.