Charades has taken on worldwide sales rights outside of Japan for anime master Mamoru Hosoda’s library and has partnered with acclaimed animation house Studio Chizu to expand the brand across borders.
Hosada’s full library will now be consolidated under the Charades banner after the two powerhouse companies previously joined forces for sales on the filmmaker’s Oscar-nominated 2018 coming-of-age anime Mirai and 2021 metaverse fairytale Belle that premiered in Cannes and was a box office hit in Japan, the US and other global territories.
The accord adds Hosoda’s previous films including his first official title for Studio Chizu The Wolf Children, The Boy And The Beast that earned $49m at the Japanese box office in 2015, 2009 multiple award-winning Summer Wars that screened at Locarno, and Annecy Cristal award winner The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.
Charades said it has already initiated talks with key territories to bring Hosoda’s collection to a broader audience and the aim of the deal is to develop a cohesive global Studio Chizu brand and turn releases into events.
Studio Chizu was launched in 2011 by Hosoda and Yuichiro Saito and has become a leading global animation outfit.
Yohann Comte, co-founder of Charades, who has worked with Saito and Hosoda since 2015 hit The Boy And The Beast said of the deal: “Charades has always been looking at the future and Mamoru Hosoda’s films are ageless, so we felt there are still many major international audiences who are lucky enough to now be able to discover his films for the first time.”
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