Europe-based theatrical-only distributor Piece of Magic Entertainment (POM) has launched POM Anime, and has acquired the strand’s first title, Japanese hit The First Slam Dunk.
POM Anime will distribute The First Slam Dunk in 35 territories, with plans to release the film in late summer 2023 across Scandinavia, Poland, the Baltic region, Greece and the central European region.
Directed by Takehiko Inoue and Yasuyuki Ebara, The First Slam Dunk follows a team of high-school basketball players who challenge the inter-city champions. It has grossed over $260m in Asian markets alone to date, and is the fifth-highest-grossing anime film of all time.
The film will play at this week’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival, on June 14 and 16.
POM Anime will initially look to release four-to-six anime feature films per year, according to Caspar Nadaud, CEO and founder of POM Entertainment.
The subsidiary will be run by the existing 16-strong POM team, with the company based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Theatrical
Having handled distribution for global anime hits including Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and Demon Slayer: Mugen Train in recent years, Nadaud said now is the time for a separate branch of the company.
“Firstly, it showcases to the licensors that we take this trend seriously and that there is a home for the titles when it comes to theatrical exploitation,” said Nadaud. “Secondly, as a more long-term objective, it’s a greater hub for the fans to go where they can discover cinema screenings of their favourite anime in their territory.”
POM’s status as a theatrical-only distributor benefits the company in the anime space, suggests the executive. “The producers, the studios in Japan, they find theatrical very important,” said Nadaud. “For them, it’s a way to nurture relationship with the filmmakers. Putting something out on the big screen remains at the top of the life of content, especially in new markets. What we’ve proven is we don’t shy away from those new markets; in central Europe, for instance, or in Greece. Most of those markets haven’t had any anime releases for a long time – we are nurturing that.”
POM Anime will decide the number of territories for each of its releases on a case-by-case basis. Nadaud said the company’s all-in approach also assists it in securing titles.
“We localise the content for all markets,” said Nadaud. “We create subtitles – the anime language is a specialisation, and we found roots in finding the right translators in each territory. So we do the booking – speaking to the exhibitors, pitching it in – but we also do the marketing, publicity operations, the box office collection reporting process, which makes it streamlined for the licensors.”
“The scale of it is what makes the business work, and what appeals to the licensors,” added Nadaud. “They deal with one distributor and don’t have to divide it into 25 different territories. We do it all from our base in Amsterdam – it’s very transparent.”
The “first tier” of audiences for POM Anime will be “the real anime fans that have been following this content for a while” said Nadaud. “Our job as a distributor is to widen that, and to build on audiences that have heard of this trend, and are curious about it. The regions where were are releasing The First Slam Dunk, for example Croatia, Greece, are big basketball nations. But also that it is at Annecy – maybe cinephiles are interested.”
POM will continue to release non-anime titles through its main distribution operations, including documentaries, live videogaming, and concert films; the company has had repeated success with the concert films of Dutch violinist Andre Rieu. “Our forte is that we are content agnostic,” said Nadaud. “As long as it belongs on the big screen and has quality. We try to be multidisciplinary and do different genres; but the forte remains theatrical.”
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