Anime streaming giant Crunchyroll has secured worldwide distribution rights—excluding most of Asia, but including India—for the upcoming animated feature film by acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai.
At present, the official title, plot details, and release date for the project are being kept under wraps.
This acquisition follows the successful global partnership between Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures for Shinkai’s 2023 hit, Suzume. That film was a critical and commercial smash, pulling in over $300 million globally and earning a Golden Globe nomination, alongside taking home Best Film at the eighth annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
Shinkai has built a stellar reputation through a string of globally celebrated movies. His 2016 masterpiece Your Name shattered box office records to become one of the highest-grossing anime films in history, while his 2017 follow-up, Weathering with You, was selected as Japan’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.
Born in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture in 1973, Shinkai first gained widespread recognition with his award-winning 2002 self-produced short, Voices of a Distant Star. He followed it with his feature-length debut, The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004), which won Best Animated Film at the 59th Mainichi Film Concours. His extensive catalog of acclaimed works also includes 5 Centimeters per Second (2007), Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), and The Garden of Words (2013).