The film and television adaptation of Japanese intellectual property is showing significant growth internationally and shows no signs of slowing down, a study has found. one piece Executive producer Tetsu Fujimura will be on stage today at TIFFCOM.
The CEO of Philosophia, a consulting and production company that connects Japanese intellectual property owners with top Hollywood producers, revealed the results of his original research in a keynote speech at the Tokyo market.
He emphasized that IP-based films have come to dominate the global box office over the past 45 years. In 1978, approximately 20% of the top 30 box office titles were based on existing IP. By 2024, this number will increase to nearly 90%.
Two films ranked in the top 10 worldwide box office in 2024 – Godzilla x Kong: New Empire and sonic hedgehog 3 – was based on Japanese IP, but in 2025, films made directly in Japan and others became huge international hits.
Animation feature Demon Slayer: Infinite Castle It grossed approximately $670 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing animated film in history. Chainsaw Man the Movie: Lesé Edition The stock is valued at $108 million after opening on major markets last weekend.
“Many anime films make more money overseas than in Japan, making them truly global content,” Fujimura said.
The study showed a significant increase in the number of global film and television adaptations of 23 Japanese IPs from the 1990s, including live-action adaptations of video games. street fighter and super mario brosup to 45 in the 2000s, The Ring, Speed Racer and resident evil.
ghost in the shellFujimura served as executive producer, and was one of 85 anime adaptations in the 2010s, with 69 titles so far in the 2020s, and more than 60 more planned. legend of zelda Features.
Since 2020, six of these films or TV series have been produced in Europe, 24 in Hollywood, and 39 in Asia. This includes a live-action film adaptation by Netflix. one pieceFujimura also serves as an executive producer, and two more seasons are planned.
When it comes to original IP sources, the US and Europe tend to be based on video games (51%), followed by manga (19%) and Japanese movies (16%). Fujimura explained that the reason anime only accounts for 5% of the source format is because most anime themselves are based on manga, and most Western adaptations are technically based on manga.
In Asia, the breakdown is very different, with most adaptations based on manga (41%), followed by TV series (29%) and novels (19%). Video games account for only 1% of Asian film adaptations. Perhaps because video games are typically large-scale stories that require Hollywood-level budgets.
In Asia, most adaptations of Japanese intellectual property occur in South Korea (51%), followed by China (34%), Taiwan (22%) and Thailand (10%).
Fujimura predicted He said that entertainment will soon surpass automobiles as Japan’s core industry, noting that the combined market capitalization of the country’s top nine entertainment companies exceeded the market capitalization of the top nine automakers.
He also highlighted Sony’s recent statement that it would not consider acquiring Warner Bros., as it looks to further grow the global market for Japanese IP and anime over the catalog of American studios.
Furthermore, Fujimura said that while previous acquisitions have focused on major IP, the focus is now on “titles that may not be well known yet, but have incredible potential.”
“The momentum behind novels, light novels, and even indie games is creating an even greater opportunity for everyone here today to work with Japanese IP,” he added.
Fujimura is best known for co-founding Gaga Communications in 1986, then resigning in 2006 to launch Philosophia, which served as a liaison between Japanese intellectual property holders and Hollywood studios.
One of his first significant relationships in Hollywood was with Marvel Studios founder Avi Arad. When they first met in the early 2000s, he had just founded Arad Productions. Fujimura helped Arad secure the rights to the manga ghost in the shell After three years of negotiations, adaptation was completed in 2017.
More recently, Fujimura has branched out into television, helping producer Marty Adelstein secure the rights to a best-selling manga. one pieceadapted for Netflix. Bring your own one piece Fujimura said that by having author Eiichiro Oda participate as an executive producer and producing the live-action series on a “creator-first” basis, this work became one of the first Western manga adaptations to receive high praise from fans.
“Oda-san wrote a heartfelt letter to his fans, asking them to give him a chance and letting them know that he admitted it himself during the audition process,” Fujimura said. “That helped us get a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.”
(Tag translation) Asia
