Suzume, the latest movie from Makoto Shinkai, will arrive in the US this spring
The movie will be about a teenager who must close portals to disaster, will arrive April 14 2023
Crunchyroll has announced that the latest movie from animation auteur Makoto Shinkai will be coming to the United States in April this year — with the company handling distribution across the world alongside Sony Pictures Entertainment, Wild Bunch International, and Eurozoom.
Suzume is described by the distributor as a coming-of-age story centering around its eponymous heroine, a 17-year-old who must travel Japan, closing portals that otherwise will unleash disaster across the country. Despite this admittedly apocalyptic premise, the movie is intended as an optimistic story to touch the hearts of its audience, as Suzume overcomes the obstacles in her way and continues on her mission. The movie will be released in U.S. theaters April 14.
A teaser trailer for the project was released in early March:
In its Japanese release last month, Suzume earned 7.5 billion yen, and stayed at the top of the box office for three weeks.
Shinkai’s previous work has won multiple awards, including the Best Animated Feature at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards for 2007’s 5 Centimeters Per Second, the Best Feature Animation Award at the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film for 2013’s The Garden of Words, and the 42nd Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Feature for 2016’s Your Name.
Crunchyroll acquired global distribution rights — excluding Asia — for the movie last May during the Cannes Film Festival from TOHO. In addition to the United States debut in April, the company is planning to roll out the movie worldwide, with April 12 releases in France and Malta, April 13 dates for Australia, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, and New Zealand, and April 14 release for Austria, Belgium, Canada, Gibraltar, Ireland, Luxembourg, and United Kingdom in addition to the U.S. Further dates will be announced soon.
Crunchyoll’s SVP of global commerce Mitchel Berger spoke with Popverse earlier this year about his company’s ambitions when it comes to anime in movie theaters.
