Japanese media company and home for all things Godzilla, Toho Co., has aquired a new indie distributor. The media powerhouse will be taking on North American production company GKIDS.
GKIDS
Launched in 2008, GKIDS is focused on animated movies, and will now operate as a subsidiary of Toho. This branch will continue to be led by founder/CEO Eric Beckman and president Dave Jesteadt. The duo have worked together since 2009, when the studio released the Oscar-nominated “The Secret of Kells.” Last year, they released Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning “The Boy and the Heron” alongside the hit “Godzilla Minus One.”
“Through their hard work, vision, and integrity, GKIDS has built a unique position in the U.S. market, which dovetails perfectly with Toho’s own strengths and strategic mission,” explained Hiro Matsuoka, Toho President and CEO in a statement. “This partnership accelerates Toho’s goals to prioritize animation, develop international markets, and support IP creation, while bringing exceptional Japanese and animated content to global audiences.”
The Partnership
Toho is one of Japan’s longest-running entertainment conglomerates. Their backing gives GKIDS significantly more leverage in the North American market. Considering they are going against companies like Netflix, Disney, Universal, and Amazon any foothold helps. Whereas, GKIDS lets Toho grow more into the international market. Since the company already has a 45% share of the Japanese distribution market, it needs new worlds to conquer.
Toho will also become the Japanese domestic distributor for properties GKIDS handles in North America, including the works of Studio Ghibli, Mamoru Hosoda, and Makoto Shinkai.
We’ll keep you posted on updates about Toho’s acquisition of GKIDS as the merger develops.
