One of Japan's most commercially influential anime directors just had good news for international fans. August 12, 2026, Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment officially announced a global co-distribution agreement for his next feature film Makoto Shinkai, the release covers the entire world excluding much of Asia, with India confirmed to be among the list of markets covered by the deal.
The project is still unknown
Although a distribution deal has been signed, almost every detail about the film has yet to be revealed. Crunchyroll confirmed the film's title, content and release date has not been published, leaving fans eagerly awaiting the next official announcement from Shinkai and the production team. This will be his first feature film since Suzume, continuing the string of consecutive commercial successes that have made Shinkai one of the most internationally influential anime directors today.
Suzume's legacy and string of commercial successes
The new deal follows a previous partnership between Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Shinkai SuzumeReleased in 2022, Suzume grossed over $300 million at the global box office, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Film, and became the first anime film to compete at the Berlin Film Festival in decades-a rare milestone for Japanese animation on the international stage.
Shinkai and the movies of a lifetime
Shinkai's recent career has been instrumental in expanding anime's presence in international theaters. Your Name. (2016) became a global phenomenon immediately after its release, while Weathering With You (2019) continued that success and was selected as Japan's representative for the Oscar in the Best International Film category. Looking back at the release history, Shinkai has consistently maintained a model of releasing a major work about every three years, and his films always stand out with their ability to combine emotionally rich stories with meticulously crafted visuals, recreating every detail of the scene.
- Agreement announcement date: 12/8/2026
- Issuing unit: Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment
- Scope: worldwide, excluding most of Asia; India is included in the agreement
- Movie name / content / release date: not yet announced
- Shinkai's most recent film: Suzume (2022), more than 300 million USD worldwide
- Original film production partners: CoMix Wave Films
Crunchyroll's position in theatrical distribution
For Crunchyroll, this deal further solidifies its position as one of the world's largest theatrical anime distributors. According to the company, Crunchyroll's theatrical distribution has been behind 12 of the top 20 highest-grossing anime films in North American history, including Suzume, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Mugen Train, and Jujutsu Kaisen 0. With that portfolio, securing the distribution rights for Shinkai's next project, one of the most box office guarantees in modern anime cinema, is seen as a crucial strategic move, although fans will still have to wait a while before knowing exactly what they'll be seeing.