Crunchyroll Acquires Rights to Makoto Shinkai’s Next Film

Crunchyroll has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to director Makoto Shinkai’s upcoming feature film, excluding Asia (except India). Details about the plot, title, and release date have not yet been revealed.

The platform had previously partnered with Sony Pictures for the global distribution of Suzume (2023), which grossed more than $300 million worldwide and received a Golden Globe nomination. 

Shinkai is known for hits such as Your Name (2016), one of anime’s biggest phenomena, and Weathering with You (2019), which was Japan’s official submission for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.

The director’s career also includes 5 Centimeters per Second (2007), Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011), and The Garden of Words (2013). His short film Voices of a Distant Star (2002) won several awards, and his first feature, The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004), took home the Best Animation award at the Mainichi Film Concours.

Suzume, his most recent work, won the Best Film award at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards and follows the journey of teenager Suzume Iwato alongside Souta, a young man who closes doors to the Afterlife to prevent disasters in Japan.