Crunchyroll and Sony Acquire Global Rights to Makoto Shinkai's Next Film — Here's Everything We Know

On August 11–12, 2026, Crunchyroll announced it had acquired the worldwide distribution rights (excluding most of Asia) to Makoto Shinkai's untitled eighth feature film . The deal marks the latest chapter for the director behind the highest-grossing original Japanese anime film of all time, Your Name, and signals the continuing expansion of anime as a mainstream theatrical category in Western markets.

The Distribution Deal: Territory, Partners, and What's Still Unknown

Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment will co-distribute the film in all territories outside Asia, with India included in the Western markets for this release . Distribution rights in Japan and the rest of Asia were not part of the agreement .

What is known about the project is limited: the title, plot, voice cast, and release date have not been announced . Shinkai stated in January 2026 that he was writing the script, but production details remain under wraps . The film is his eighth feature project and follows the same distribution path as Suzume, which was jointly handled by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures in 2023 .

Shinkai's Track Record: The "Disaster Trilogy" by the Numbers

Shinkai's last three films, grouped by critics as his "Disaster Trilogy," share themes inspired by natural disasters in Japan and have become among the highest-grossing Japanese films in history .

Film	Year Released	Worldwide Box Office
Your Name. (君の名は。)	2016	~$405 million
Weathering with You (天気の子)	2019	~$193 million
Suzume (すずめの戸締まり)	2022	~$315 million

Combined, the three films grossed over $923 million worldwide . Your Name. was produced on a budget of less than $7 million and earned roughly $58 per dollar of production cost at the box office — a return on investment that surpasses mainstream animated hits like Frozen . It held the record as the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time until Demon Slayer: Mugen Train in 2020 . Each successive Shinkai film has received a wider theatrical rollout in Western markets, and Suzume ranked at #1 on its opening day in multiple countries .

Crunchyroll's Broader Theatrical Strategy for Anime

Crunchyroll has aggressively pushed anime films as global event releases rather than niche programming . The strategy was articulated by Crunchyroll's SVP of Global Commerce Mitchel Berger at CinemaCon 2025: a three-part pitch that reminded theater owners of proven successes (Demon Slayer, Dragon Ball, Suzume), demonstrated that anime fans are frequent theatrical moviegoers, and expanded the theatrical footprint into markets historically considered small for anime .

Key proof points for the strategy include:

• Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle grossed $793 million worldwide in 2025, ranking as the year's seventh-highest-grossing film and becoming the highest-grossing international film ever in U.S. theaters . Crunchyroll executives cited this as evidence that "the anime theatrical window is not a novelty release strategy" .
• Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc contributed significantly to Sony Pictures Entertainment's theatrical revenue in 2025 .
• Sony Pictures Entertainment reported flat annual sales of roughly $9.9 billion for FY2025–2026, with strong anime theatrical performance helping offset declines in other segments .

Crunchyroll's core theatrical markets include the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and Latin America, with the company working to grow the theatrical window for anime in regions where it has historically been treated as streaming-only content .

The Your Name 10th Anniversary 4K Re-Release (August 14, 2026)

Coinciding with the new distribution deal and building momentum for Shinkai's brand, GKIDS is bringing a new 4K remaster of Your Name to North American theaters beginning August 14, 2026 .

• Format: Newly restored 4K remaster, presented in both original Japanese with English subtitles and the English dub .
• Home release: A 4K UHD Steelbook and Blu-ray edition follows on August 25, 2026, distributed by Shout! Studios — the first 4K Ultra HD home release of the film in North America .
• Trailer: GKIDS released a 10th-anniversary trailer on July 30, 2026 .
• Context: This re-release serves as both a celebration of the film's 10-year legacy and a reminder of Shinkai's proven box-office power as Crunchyroll and Sony prepare to market his next untitled project to global audiences.

What This Means for Shinkai's Next Film

The simultaneous events — a new global distribution deal and a major anniversary re-release — create a sustained marketing runway for Shinkai's next film. With his recent track record and Crunchyroll's increasingly sophisticated theatrical strategy, the untitled eighth feature is positioned to benefit from the widest possible international release of any Shinkai film to date. The only missing pieces, for now, are the title, the story, and a release date.