Crunchyroll has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to acclaimed filmmaker Makoto Shinka’s next feature film, with Sony Pictures Entertainment to co-distribute the highly anticipated anime outside Asia, except India.
The announcement was made 12 August 2026 in Mumbai. While Crunchyroll has secured the film’s global rights outside Asia, India is included in the distribution territory. Details about the film’s plot, title and release date have not yet been disclosed.
The deal marks another collaboration between Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment on a Shinkai film. The two companies previously partnered on the worldwide distribution of Suzume, which was released in 2023 and grossed over $300 million worldwide. The film also received critical acclaim, including a Golden Globe nomination, and premiered in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Shinkai has established himself as one of the most influential directors in Japanese animation. His previous films, including Your Name. and Weathering With You, have achieved significant commercial success and international recognition. Your Name became a worldwide phenomenon and one of the highest-grossing anime films of all time, while weathering with you was selected as Japan’s official submission for Academy Awards for best international feature film.
Shinkai began his filmmaking career with the self-produced short-film Voices of a Distant Star in 2002. He later directed films including The Place Promised in Our Early Day, 5 Centimeters Per Second, Children Who Chase Lost Voices and The Garden of Words, earning recognition at several international film festivals and award ceremonies.
His 2016 film Your Name. became the second-highest-grossing Japanese film and won several awards, including director of the year and screenplay of the year, at the Japan Academy Film Prize. Weathering With You followed in 2019, while Suzume became his third consecutive film to record more than 10 million domestic admissions in Japan.
