GKIDS scales Miyazaki's Hill

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Distribution News

GKIDS, a US-based distribution collective, announced that it has struck a distribution agreement for North American rights to hit Japanese animation movie From Up on Poppy Hill コクリコ坂から (2011).

The deal with Studio Ghibli スタジオジブリ will see GKIDS handle theatrical, home video and VoD rights.

The company said that it will give the film a March 2013 theatrical release, though it also said that it plans to qualify it for the Academy Awards in the best animation category. That would require an Oscar-qualifying release of at least a week in 2012.

Poppy Hill is directed by MIYAZAKI Goro 宮崎吾朗 from a script co-written by his father, animation legend MIYAZAKI Hayao 宮崎駿. It scored $57.4 million last summer in Japan, a relatively disappointing amount for a Ghibli title.

Recently, Ghibli titles have been released in North America by Disney. GKIDS, which announced the pickup at the Annecy animation festival in France this week, last year struck a deal with Ghibli covering theatrical rights to 13 Ghibli library titles.

The selection, including Spirited Away 千と千尋の神隠し (2001), My Neighbor Totoro となりのトトロ (1988), Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind 風の谷のナウシカ (1984), Laputa: Castle in the Sky 天空の城ラピュタ (1986), Kiki's Delivery Service 魔女の宅急便 (1989) and Princess Mononoke もののけ姫 (1997), are touring major US cities.

GKIDS other recent acquisitions include a string of French animation titles as well as Production IG プロダクション ＩＧ's A Letter to Momo ももへの手紙 (2011).

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