The Executive Vice President of Toho, Keiji Ota, who also heads their Anime Group Entertainment Unit, gave an interview to Mainichi Japan where he talked about their ‘winning formula’ of having movies break up long-running TV anime series.
The entire movie ‘trend’ arguably began with Demon Slayer: Infinity Train, which premiered in 2020 and became the highest-grossing Japanese movie of all time. Toho distributed the movie in Japan along with Aniplex (Sony).
Since then, it became a lot more common to see movies for popular ongoing franchises, with Toho also distributing JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 (2021), SPY x FAMILY CODE: White (2023), and Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle (2024). Read on about Toho’s plans for global expansion and how they boost TV series with movies.
North American Expansion
Toho acquired GKIDS in October of this year. GKIDS recently released DAN DA DAN: FIRST ENCOUNTER, while some of their other acquisitions include the North American theatrical rights to Naoko Yamada’s A Silent Voice, Liz and the Blue Bird, and the upcoming The Colors Within, as well as the global home entertainment rights to Arcane Season 1.
Speaking about Toho’s acquisition, Ota told Mainichi that the company aims to strengthen its North American distribution. He described GKIDS as an independent company with 16 years of history, a keen eye for quality animation, and a loyal fan base.
They were surprised with the reception of DAN DA DAN in North America as it was a theatrical release of a work that would soon be available on streaming platforms. He compared it to Japan, which has had pre-broadcast screenings for a while, saying that this convinced them that there was a similar level of interest with fans in North America.
DAN DA DAN has also performed well in our weekly fan polls, frequently ranking among the top-ranked shows.
Half of the Revenue Now Comes From Overseas Markets
Mainichi’s article also notes that the Japanese anime industry has seen huge growth in recent years. According to the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA), the anime market grew from ¥1.3 trillion (~$8.67 billion USD) in 2011 to ¥3.3 trillion (~$22 billion USD) in 2023. Half of this revenue now comes from overseas markets.
They write that COVID-19 got the demand for Japanese anime (among all other media) to go up on international streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, with Toho’s financial performance showing that the trend continued even post-pandemic.
In the fiscal year ending February 2022, Toho’s streaming revenue was slightly over ¥7 billion (~$46.67 million USD). In just two years, Toho more than doubled its streaming revenue, reaching ¥18 billion (~$120 million USD) in 2024. Notably, revenue from overseas streaming services outpaced the domestic earnings, further proving the growing international demand for Japanese anime.
Overseas streaming accounted for 34.1% of Toho’s revenue in 2024, up from 14.1% in 2022. Furthermore, overseas streaming revenues are now 1.7 times higher than domestic, and character licensing revenue from overseas has surpassed domestic earnings.
This growth highlights the increasing importance of the international audience to Toho’s revenue model as they transition more to digital platforms.
Toho’s ‘Winning Formula’ of Having Movies Between Long-Running TV Anime Series
Continuing to explain how streaming affected the industry, Ota compared it to video releases like DVD. With those, revenue ends immediately after the sale. On the other hand, the streaming revenue continues to grow for as long as the content continues to circulate due to annual contract renewals.
Ota explained the ‘winning formula’ of movies and TV for Toho: “To achieve this, we aim to develop anime works into long-running series. By interspersing TV series with theatrical releases, fans can use streaming to prepare and review before going to theaters, further boosting engagement.”
Kaiju No. 8 is the latest example of the ‘winning formula’ from Toho that includes movies for ongoing TV anime adaptations. The compilation movie will premiere on March 28, 2025, and it will include the Hoshina’s Day Off special episode.
This aligns with the strategy as it will release close to the already announced Season 2 TV anime, which is set for 2025 as well.
Toho also acquired studio Science SARU (DAN DA DAN) in May of this year, and they acquired a 6% stake in ComiX Wave Films in October. They already distributed several movies from the latter, including Your Name (2016), Weathering With You (2019), and Suzume (2022).
Industry Trends Beyond Toho
Sony is also expanding globally, with interest in acquiring KADOKAWA being reported recently. The new Demon Slayer movie, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle Arc, will be distributed by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide, including Japan.
Toyo Keizai reported that CyberAgent and Shochiku partnered and won the project of a Kagurabachi anime adaptation.
We will likely see more of the ‘winning formula’ both from Toho and other major players in the industry, and it will be interesting to follow as they try to solidify their position as a leader in the growing market.
Source: Mainichi
Featured image:
Haikyu!! ©Haruichi Furudate/Shueisha, Haikyuu Production Committee, MBS
JUJUTSU KAISEN ©2021 JUJUTSU KAISEN ZERO The Movie Project ©Gege Akutami/Shueisha
Demon Slayer ©Koyoharu Gotoge / SHUEISHA / Aniplex / ufotable
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