Chinese language Distributor Highway Footage Makes Main Enlargement Into Anime IP Enterprise (Unique)

Highway Footage, one among China’s most constantly profitable distributors of Japanese anime and worldwide status cinema, is getting ready a serious growth into the anime IP and bodily leisure enterprise. On the upcoming TIFCOM content material market in Tokyo this week, the Beijing-based firm will unveil a brand new enterprise to license, promote and monetize high-value ACGN properties (animation, comics, video games and YA novels). Highway Footage says the brand new entity, which is able to go by the identify GuGuGuGu in Chinese language and Animation Valley in English, will pursue three core actions — content material distribution, merchandizing and experiential companies — carried out by each on-line and offline channels, together with a community of proprietary IP shops, themed cafes and theme parks.

Highway Footage first caught the worldwide movie world’s consideration in 2018, when it marketed and distributed Nadine Lebaki’s small-budget arthouse drama Capernaum to a bofo $54 million box-office whole in China. In 2023, the corporate generated two large hits by advertising and distributing Japanese anime options in China — first with Mokoto Shinkai’s Suzume in March ($110 million/RMB 808 million) and once more with Toei Animation’s The First Slam Dunk ($90 million / RMB 660 million) in April. The dimensions of these successes proves the market demand for ACGN content material in China, Highway says. The corporate forecasts that China’s whole ACGN content material market might be value $15 billion (RMB 110.58 billion) by 2026, fueled by a fan base forecasted to succeed in 530 million customers.

GuGuGuGu will kickstart its actions with the opening of a Makoto Shinkai exhibition and themed cafe in Shanghai close to the top of 2023. By the top of 2024, GuGuGuGu plans to be working eight offline stores throughout China.

“Along with offering high-quality ACGN content material, services and products, our imaginative and prescient is, along with the ACGN followers, to construct a house for them the place they will really feel supported, appreciated and related,” says Gongming Cai, CEO of Highway Footage and president of GuGuGuGu.

Provides Jia Cao, chairman of Highway Footage and co-founder of GuGuGuGu: “Our plan for this new enterprise is to construct a premium leisure model that can change into the go-to vacation spot for all of the ACGN followers in China, fulfilling all their wants in a single built-in eco-system.”

Monetary particulars weren’t disclosed, however Highway describes the brand new firm as its “most bold endeavor thus far, mobilizing heavy funding and a devoted crew of leisure, advertising and retail professionals.”