GKIDS announced that it has acquired the North American distribution rights to the entire film catalogue of Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda. The director is internationally renowned for critically acclaimed animated feature films such as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children.
GKIDS previously released the Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated Mirai (2018) and the critically lauded Belle (2021), which became Hosoda’s highest grossing film to date in North America. Both films made their respective world premieres at the Cannes Film Festival.
Hosoda’s six features have all been nominated for, and five have been awarded, the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. He remains the only Japanese animation director outside of the famed Studio Ghibli to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. The catalogue of Hosoda’s Studio Chizu is represented internationally by Charades, and the deal was negotiated between Eric Beckman at GKIDS and Yohann Comte and Carole Baraton at Charades on behalf of Studio Chizu.
“One of GKIDS’ earliest distribution projects was the theatrical release of Summer Wars, when Mamoru Hosoda had already cemented his position as one of the most exciting animation directors,” said GKIDS president David Jesteadt. “We were honoured to deepen our relationship with the release of his two latest films, Mirai and Belle, and are excited to now be able to showcase the full breadth of Hosoda’s ambitious storytelling across his film catalogue, featuring some of the most acclaimed and successful Japanese animated films of all time.”
Summer Wars and Wolf Children will enter GKIDS’ catalogue immediately, while The Boy and the Beast and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time will enter the catalogue next year. As a start, the films will receive new theatrical and home entertainment releases highlighting Hosoda’s unique artistry, with further details forthcoming.