Japan’s Toho acquires North American animation company GKIDS, Studio Ghibli's US steward

The Japanese entertainment giant Toho has reached an agreement to acquire the Oscar-winning animation outfit GKIDS, the companies said Tuesday.

The deal gives Toho an established North American distributor and sales operation in GKIDS, which has become a force in animation since its founding in 2008. As producer and distributor of artist-driven animation, GKIDS has brought acclaimed films like “Song of the Sea,” “The Breadwinner” and “Wolfwalkers” to North American audiences and operated as the domestic stewards of the Studio Ghibli catalog.

After 13 best animated feature Oscar nominations, GKIDS won the award earlier this year for Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s “The Boy and the Heron.”

Toho, meanwhile, is home to internationally recognized brands, from Godzilla to popular anime franchises like “My Hero Academia” and “Jujutsu Kaisen.” The company is hoping to grow and expand outside of Japan and had already worked with GKIDS for years, on releases like “Weathering With You” and “Spirited Away: Live on Stage.”