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Gkids has picked up U.K. and Ireland distribution rights to Studio Ghibli’s 23-title film library, adding theatrical, home video, TV and digital rights across the territory to its slate.
The rollout begins with an Imax
release of “Kiki’s Delivery Service” in the U.K. and Ireland on August 21. The Ghibli catalog includes the Oscar-winning “Spirited Away” and “The Boy and the Heron,” Oscar-nominated titles “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “The Tale of The Princess Kaguya,” “The Wind Rises” and “When Marnie Was There,” along with “Princess Mononoke,” “My Neighbor Totoro,” “Ponyo” and “Castle in the Sky,” among others. Most of the films have had limited availability in the territory for several years.
Additional Imax releases are already lined up, including “The Secret World of Arrietty” (released in the U.K. as “Arrietty”) and “Whisper of the Heart.” Gkids also plans further Imax releases of new 4K Ghibli remasters starting in fall 2026, alongside a re-release of the full library across home video platforms.
In the U.K. and Ireland, Gkids will partner with Anime Limited, the Glasgow-based distributor recently acquired by Gkids parent company Toho Global. The two companies have collaborated on releases including “Arcane,” “Perfect Blue” and “Neon Genesis Evangelion,” and will jointly handle the upcoming release of Toho’s “Godzilla Minus Zero.”
The agreement was negotiated by Eric Beckman at Gkids and Vincent Maraval at Goodfellas, which serves as Studio Ghibli’s worldwide sales agent outside a number of territories including the U.S., Canada and Japan. Gkids has long handled Ghibli distribution in North America across theatrical, home video, digital and streaming. Goodfellas retains streaming rights for the U.K. and Ireland, where they are licensed to Netflix.
“Gkids is delighted to extend our relationship with Studio Ghibli into the U.K. and Ireland, and to have this opportunity to reintroduce these incomparable films to audiences old and new,” said David Jesteadt, president of Gkids.
“We are very happy to be working together with Gkids to bring the renowned Studio Ghibli library to U.K. and Irish audiences,” added Vincent Maraval, president of Goodfellas.
Studio Ghibli was founded by directors Miyazaki Hayao and Takahata Isao alongside producer Suzuki Toshio, and has won two Academy Awards for best animated feature, for “Spirited Away” and “The Boy and the Heron.” The studio, along with the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka and Ghibli Park, received an Honorary Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
The Imax rollout arrives as “Kiki’s Delivery Service” expands beyond film: BBC Studios Kids & Family, U.K. company Wheel in Motion and Kadokawa Corporation are developing a live-action television seriesbased on Eiko Kadono’s source novels, marking the property’s first live-action small-screen adaptation.
