Miramax International has sealed a five-picture output deal with Gaga Communications in Japan for a reported $15m, marking the biggest deal the company has ever scored in the territory and signalling a new aggression among Japanese buyers.

The films are James Mangold's Kate & Leopold starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman, Texas Rangers, Halloween: Homecoming, Mimic 2 and Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. Gaga, which has an upcoming IPO planned, should be keenly aggressive during Cannes.

Rick Sands, chairman of worldwide distribution at Miramax Films, says that the deal was closed earlier this week after negotiations before the market, although he refused to comment on price. He also said that Japan could replace the gap opened in the market by a subdued Germany; Sands has two further packages to close in Japan before Cannes is over, one led by David Twohy's Below and the other by Spy Kids 2.