Crunchyroll has acquired the worldwide distribution rights, excluding most of Asia, to the next feature film from acclaimed Japanese director Makoto Shinkai. Plot details, a title and a release date have not yet been announced, but the deal underlines the growing partnership between the streaming platform and one of anime's most commercially successful filmmakers, whose work has repeatedly crossed over into mainstream Western audiences.

Crunchyroll previously worked with Sony Pictures to distribute Shinkai's 2023 film Suzume, which earned over $300 million worldwide and a Golden Globe nomination, and later won Best Film at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards. Shinkai, born in Nagano Prefecture in 1973, has built a celebrated filmography including Your Name (2016), one of the highest-grossing anime films ever, and Weathering With You (2019), which was Japan's Academy Awards submission for Best International Feature. His distribution deal will cover markets worldwide except Asia, with India as a notable exception where Crunchyroll will also hold rights.