HBO Max and GKIDS Strike Exclusive Licensing Deal for 20 Adult Animated and Live Action Films

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HBO Max and GKIDS Expand Partnership with 20 New Titles

HBO Max and GKIDS have announced an extension of their collaboration, bringing 20 additional live-action and animated features to the streaming platform. This exciting development will see the debut of acclaimed works by renowned Japanese filmmakers, including Makoto Shinkai, on HBO Max starting Sept. 1. Some of the highly anticipated titles making their streaming debut include “Your Name,” “Shin Godzilla,” and “Perfect Blue.”

With HBO Max already home to the Studio Ghibli catalog in the United States, distributed by GKIDS, this partnership solidifies the platform as a leading destination for top-tier Japanese animation and original films. Royce Battleman, EVP of Global Content Acquisitions at Warner Bros. Discovery, expressed the company’s commitment to delivering premium content to subscribers through this deal.

President of GKIDS, Dave Jesteadt, shared his excitement about continuing the relationship with HBO Max and bringing this diverse selection of films to US streaming audiences. The focus on award-winning and genre-defining programming on HBO Max aligns perfectly with GKIDS’ mission to champion outstanding filmmaking.

The lineup of titles set to debut on HBO Max includes a mix of classics and fan favorites:

“Children Who Chase Lost Voices” (dir. Makoto Shinkai)
“Fireworks” (dir. Akiyuki Shinbo, Noboyuki Takeuchi)
“Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” (dir. Ayumu Watanabe) (North American Streaming Debut)
“Ghost Cat Anzu” (dir. Yôko Kuno, Nobuhiro Yamashita) (North American Streaming Debut)
“Lonely Castle in the Mirror” (dir. Keiichi Hara) (North American Streaming Debut)
“Love & Pop” (dir. Hideaki Anno) (North American Streaming Debut)
“The Place Promised in Our Early Days” (dir. Makoto Shinkai)
“Your Name.” (dir. Makoto Shinkai) (4K Streaming Debut)

Coming later this year, viewers can look forward to additional titles such as “Angel’s Egg” (dir. Mamoru Oshii), “Liz and the Blue Bird” (dir. Naoko Yamada), “Lu Over the Wall” (dir. Masaaki Yuasa), and more. The deal was facilitated by Liz Bannan Atcheson, VP of Content Acquisition for HBO Max, and Eric Beckman, GKIDS’ Founder, and CEO.