Spirited Away
HBO Max Secures Rights to Japan’s Studio Ghibli Movies
October 18, 2019
HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s pending subscription streaming video platform, has acquired first-time streaming rights to Studio Ghibli’s movie catalog. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
The Japan-based animation studio’s titles include: Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Ponyo and Castle in the Sky, among others.
“Studio Ghibli films are visually breathtaking, completely immersive experiences” Kevin Reilly, CCO of HBO Max, and president of TNT, TBS, and truTV, said in a statement. “We are proud to showcase them in an accessible way for even more fans through HBO Max.”
The studio’s animation directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and producer Toshio Suzuki, have won countless international awards, including an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away, as well as four additional Academy Award nominations for Howl’s Moving Castle, The Wind Rises, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and When Marnie Was There.
Director and studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki was separately given an Honorary Award at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Governors Awards in 2014, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will pay tribute to his artwork with a special exhibit when the Museum opens in 2020.
Koji Hoshino, chairman of Studio Ghibli, called HBO Max the ideal “home” for its feature film content.
“Upon launch of the service this spring, existing Ghibli fans will be able enjoy their favorites and delve deeper into the library, while whole new audiences will be able to discover our films for the first time,” Hoshino said.