Studio Ghibli's North American Distributor Is Being Acquired by a Japanese Entertainment Giant

Japanese entertainment giant Toho has officially reached an agreement to acquire GKIDS, the North American distributor known for bringing movies like The Boy and the Heron and Wolfwalkers to North American audiences.

The deal was announced on Tuesday, and gives Toho a 100% equity share in GKIDS. Financial terms were not disclosed.

It goes without saying that the acquisition gives Toho, the studio behind movies like Godzilla Minus One and home to anime including My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen, a much stronger distribution foothold in North America. As the press release puts it, the move "sets the company’s plans for growth and expansion outside of Japan, and aims to connect its Japanese and international productions, creators, and studios more directly and widely with creators and fans overseas."

Basically, what that could mean for consumers is that it may become a little easier for North American fans to see Toho's films and TV shows. Toho has also acquired Science SARU, the Japanese animation studio behind Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and DAN DA DAN, and made an investment in Los Angeles-based Severance and Tokyo Vice production and distribution company Fifth Season.

And GKIDS has a proven track record in its own right, garnering 13 Academy Award nominations and winning the most recent Best Animated Film Oscar for The Boy and the Heron. It serves as the North American distributor of the famous Studio Ghibli library of films, while Toho tends to handle distribution for those movies in Japan.

GKIDS is also known for distributing acclaimed films like The Breadwinner and TV shows like Netflix's Arcane. In a statement, GKIDS founder and CEO Eric Beckman and president Dave Jesteadt vowed that "GKIDS will continue to operate as we always have — with the same team, the same passion, and the same mission — but now with the backing of a highly complementary and legendary parent company."

"We are truly thrilled to be joining forces with the esteemed and storied Toho, home to Godzilla and Akira Kurosawa, as well as blockbuster anime franchises like My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen," the statement continued. "This partnership will empower us to bring even more amazing films to North American and global audiences, while we continue to champion animation as a cinematic artform and push the limits of what the medium is capable of. We could not be more excited about the opportunities in front of us. The best is yet to come.”

For more, check out our 9/10 review of The Boy and the Heron, where Rafael Motamayor wrote, "Hayao Miyazaki delivers the perfect coda to his illustrious career with a stunning animated adventure that reminds us how lucky we are to live at a time when Studio Ghibli is making movies."

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.