Toei Animation Releases Inaugural Latin America Market Report Highlighting Growth and Gains in Both Licensing and Distribution
Las Vegas, June 13, 2023 – Legendary studio and anime industry leader Toei Animation Inc. today released its inaugural Latin America Market Report at Licensing Expo 2023 in Las Vegas. Latin America represents this second largest market area managed by Toei Animation Inc., the Los Angeles-based regional arm of Japan's Toei Animation Co. Ltd. responsible for the distribution and consumer product licensing of the studio's film and television IP portfolio in North America, Latin America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The new Latin America Market Report will be released annually and will offer a comprehensive overview of Toei Animation's Latin American business across the four key areas, brand licensing, broadcast distribution, theatrical releases and production, for the preceding 12-months. The report will also highlight significant developments and key partnerships – emphasizing the company's growth and market presence.
This marks the latest development in Toei Animation's Latin American market efforts which includes last year's launch of Spanish-language social media channels as part of the company's new direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) strategy, a first for any major anime studio. Fan reaction has been incredibly positive and based on the early success of the Spanish-language social media channels (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), which now total more than 330,000 followers, Toei Animation launched a new Spanish-language company website as well.
BRAND LICENSING
Toei Animation generated major licensing volume in Latin America over the past 12 months – executing a stunning 150 new agreements, consisting of 60 new licenses and 90 license renewals. This level of deal flow reflects not only the popularity of Toei Animation's IPs but also consumer demand for licensed merchandise. With the addition of these 150 new agreements, Toei Animation's brand licensing business in Latin America now encompasses a massive 250 active agreements.
The 60 new licenses were with both new and current licensees across a mix of product categories, promotions and events for a variety of the company's top IPs, including TV series “Dragon Ball Z,” “Dragon Ball Super” and “One Piece,” films “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” and “One Piece Film Red,” and franchises Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya and Digimon.
Key partnership highlights include the following:
Havaianas
ONE PIECE
Havaianas, a Brazilian manufacturer and global leader in the sandals category, known for its bright colors and iconic rubber soles for a collection its signature flip flops featuring two exclusive One Piece designs. The first collection dropped in 2022. A second collection arrives in 2023.
Iron Studio
SAINT SEIYA
Iron Studio, a Brazilian developer and manufacturer of highly detailed collectible figures, for a collection of hand-painted 1/10 scale BDS Art Scale polystone statues based on characters from the Saint Seiya franchise. The first Saint Seiya character in the series, Pope Ares, will be released in early 2024.
Pollo Campero
DRAGON BALL SUPER
Pollo Campero, the nostalgic Guatemalen fast food chicken restaurant with close to 400 locations worldwide, for a limited-time promotion providing one of four different Dragon Ball Super toy figures for free with the purchase of a Loncherita children's lunchbox in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Ecuador.
Piticas
DIGIMON
Piticas, a Brazilian retailer and Latin America's largest franchise focused on the geek market with over 450 locations, for a collection of apparel and accessories based on the Digimon as well as other Toei Animation franchises, including Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya and One Piece.
Loly in the Sky
SAILOR MOON
Loly in the Sky, a Mexican fashion brand for women offering 100% vegan products, for a capsule collection of apparel, accessories and shoes based on the Sailor Moon franchised released in February 2023.
OXXO
SAINT SEIYA
OXXO, a Mexican convenience store chain with more than 21,000 locations throughout Latin America, for a collection of products based on the Saint Seiya franchise available in 17,400 locations in Mexico.
BROADCAST DISTRIBUTION
Toei Animation is among the world's most prolific anime studios with a catalog of 258 feature films and 231 TV shows encompassing over 13,300 episodes (as of March 2022). And during the past 12 months, broadcast distribution grew the company's already expansive footprint throughout Latin America.
Dragon Quest and World Trigger joined Dragon Ball, One Piece and Sailor Moon on the growing list of Toei Animation franchise titles available via both linear TV providers (both free and pay TV) including TV Azteca (Mexico), Rede Bandeirantes (Brazil) and Warner Channel Latin America and as well as on VOD over OTT streaming services like Netflix, MAX, Globoplay (Brazil), and Claro Video. Establishing this vast broadcast distribution network has enabled Toei Animation to not only reach the widest audience but also maximize the visibility of its animated shows and films across Latin America.
Toei Animation also significantly increased Electronic Sell Through (EST) to meet the growing demand for digital distribution in Latin America – offering consumers convenient access to an expanded catalog of episodic TV series and feature films available for purchase as digital downloads on a variety of online storefronts, including, Microsoft and iTunes. This steady rise in Toei Animation's EST sales provides a further indicator of the popularity of its series and movies in the region.
THEATRICAL RELEASES
2022 was a big year for new theatrical films in Latin America with Toei Animation's record-breaking global release of three feature films, namely, “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero,” “One Piece Film Red,” and “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK.” The first two movies, "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" and "One Piece Film Red," were released last year and both garnered significant attention and favorable box office results, with “One Piece Film Red” alone earning a box office of over $5 Million across more than 2,2209 screens during its release. Their success highlights the strong market demand for Toei Animation films in Latin America.
And as announced last week, “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK” will be released in Latin America this summer starting first in Mexico. “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK” marks the first new feature-length film from the globally cherished SLAM DUNK franchise in over 28 years. The movie has been a blockbuster hit for Toei Animation since its Japanese release last year and has already earned more than $212 Million to date globally.
PRODUCTION
To support the distribution of ongoing TV series and new films as well as catalog titles in Latin America, Toei Animation works directly with a network of dubbing studios and vendors located in Mexico and Brazil to produce a continuous volume of Spanish and Portuguese language work. By utilizing in region studios and vendors as well as talent for its localization strategy, Toei Animation can address the specific language needs and preferences of the region and produce the best possible Spanish and Portuguese dub adaptations.
These native language adaptations of Toei Animation's TV shows and films the viewing experience of Latin American audiences, which in turn fosters audience growth, engagement and viewership – driving brand popularity and ultimately demand for branded products.
About Toei Animation Inc.
Based in Los Angeles, Toei Animation Inc. manages the distribution of Toei Animation's top properties, including franchise series Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, One Piece, Digimon, Saint Seiya and many others, to North America, Latin America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Toei Animation's Los Angeles office further handles all categories of consumer product licensing based on its film and television brands within these territories. For more information, please visit toei-animation-usa.com and toei-animation-la.com
Follow Toei Animation on both its English and Spanish-language social media at:
Facebook.com/ToeiAnimationOfficial
Instagram.com/Toei_Animation
Twitter.com/ToeiAnimation
YouTube.com/ToeiAnimationUS
Twitch.tv/ToeiAnimation
Facebook.com/ToeiAnimationLATAM
Instagram.com/ToeiAnimationLATAM
Twitter.com/ToeiAnimationLA
The new Latin America Market Report will be released annually and will offer a comprehensive overview of Toei Animation's Latin American business across the four key areas, brand licensing, broadcast distribution, theatrical releases and production, for the preceding 12-months. The report will also highlight significant developments and key partnerships – emphasizing the company's growth and market presence.
This marks the latest development in Toei Animation's Latin American market efforts which includes last year's launch of Spanish-language social media channels as part of the company's new direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) strategy, a first for any major anime studio. Fan reaction has been incredibly positive and based on the early success of the Spanish-language social media channels (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), which now total more than 330,000 followers, Toei Animation launched a new Spanish-language company website as well.
BRAND LICENSING
Toei Animation generated major licensing volume in Latin America over the past 12 months – executing a stunning 150 new agreements, consisting of 60 new licenses and 90 license renewals. This level of deal flow reflects not only the popularity of Toei Animation's IPs but also consumer demand for licensed merchandise. With the addition of these 150 new agreements, Toei Animation's brand licensing business in Latin America now encompasses a massive 250 active agreements.
The 60 new licenses were with both new and current licensees across a mix of product categories, promotions and events for a variety of the company's top IPs, including TV series “Dragon Ball Z,” “Dragon Ball Super” and “One Piece,” films “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” and “One Piece Film Red,” and franchises Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya and Digimon.
Key partnership highlights include the following:
Havaianas
ONE PIECE
Havaianas, a Brazilian manufacturer and global leader in the sandals category, known for its bright colors and iconic rubber soles for a collection its signature flip flops featuring two exclusive One Piece designs. The first collection dropped in 2022. A second collection arrives in 2023.
Iron Studio
SAINT SEIYA
Iron Studio, a Brazilian developer and manufacturer of highly detailed collectible figures, for a collection of hand-painted 1/10 scale BDS Art Scale polystone statues based on characters from the Saint Seiya franchise. The first Saint Seiya character in the series, Pope Ares, will be released in early 2024.
Pollo Campero
DRAGON BALL SUPER
Pollo Campero, the nostalgic Guatemalen fast food chicken restaurant with close to 400 locations worldwide, for a limited-time promotion providing one of four different Dragon Ball Super toy figures for free with the purchase of a Loncherita children's lunchbox in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Ecuador.
Piticas
DIGIMON
Piticas, a Brazilian retailer and Latin America's largest franchise focused on the geek market with over 450 locations, for a collection of apparel and accessories based on the Digimon as well as other Toei Animation franchises, including Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya and One Piece.
Loly in the Sky
SAILOR MOON
Loly in the Sky, a Mexican fashion brand for women offering 100% vegan products, for a capsule collection of apparel, accessories and shoes based on the Sailor Moon franchised released in February 2023.
OXXO
SAINT SEIYA
OXXO, a Mexican convenience store chain with more than 21,000 locations throughout Latin America, for a collection of products based on the Saint Seiya franchise available in 17,400 locations in Mexico.
BROADCAST DISTRIBUTION
Toei Animation is among the world's most prolific anime studios with a catalog of 258 feature films and 231 TV shows encompassing over 13,300 episodes (as of March 2022). And during the past 12 months, broadcast distribution grew the company's already expansive footprint throughout Latin America.
Dragon Quest and World Trigger joined Dragon Ball, One Piece and Sailor Moon on the growing list of Toei Animation franchise titles available via both linear TV providers (both free and pay TV) including TV Azteca (Mexico), Rede Bandeirantes (Brazil) and Warner Channel Latin America and as well as on VOD over OTT streaming services like Netflix, MAX, Globoplay (Brazil), and Claro Video. Establishing this vast broadcast distribution network has enabled Toei Animation to not only reach the widest audience but also maximize the visibility of its animated shows and films across Latin America.
Toei Animation also significantly increased Electronic Sell Through (EST) to meet the growing demand for digital distribution in Latin America – offering consumers convenient access to an expanded catalog of episodic TV series and feature films available for purchase as digital downloads on a variety of online storefronts, including, Microsoft and iTunes. This steady rise in Toei Animation's EST sales provides a further indicator of the popularity of its series and movies in the region.
THEATRICAL RELEASES
2022 was a big year for new theatrical films in Latin America with Toei Animation's record-breaking global release of three feature films, namely, “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero,” “One Piece Film Red,” and “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK.” The first two movies, "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" and "One Piece Film Red," were released last year and both garnered significant attention and favorable box office results, with “One Piece Film Red” alone earning a box office of over $5 Million across more than 2,2209 screens during its release. Their success highlights the strong market demand for Toei Animation films in Latin America.
And as announced last week, “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK” will be released in Latin America this summer starting first in Mexico. “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK” marks the first new feature-length film from the globally cherished SLAM DUNK franchise in over 28 years. The movie has been a blockbuster hit for Toei Animation since its Japanese release last year and has already earned more than $212 Million to date globally.
PRODUCTION
To support the distribution of ongoing TV series and new films as well as catalog titles in Latin America, Toei Animation works directly with a network of dubbing studios and vendors located in Mexico and Brazil to produce a continuous volume of Spanish and Portuguese language work. By utilizing in region studios and vendors as well as talent for its localization strategy, Toei Animation can address the specific language needs and preferences of the region and produce the best possible Spanish and Portuguese dub adaptations.
These native language adaptations of Toei Animation's TV shows and films the viewing experience of Latin American audiences, which in turn fosters audience growth, engagement and viewership – driving brand popularity and ultimately demand for branded products.
About Toei Animation Inc.
Based in Los Angeles, Toei Animation Inc. manages the distribution of Toei Animation's top properties, including franchise series Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, One Piece, Digimon, Saint Seiya and many others, to North America, Latin America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Toei Animation's Los Angeles office further handles all categories of consumer product licensing based on its film and television brands within these territories. For more information, please visit toei-animation-usa.com and toei-animation-la.com
Follow Toei Animation on both its English and Spanish-language social media at:
Facebook.com/ToeiAnimationOfficial
Instagram.com/Toei_Animation
Twitter.com/ToeiAnimation
YouTube.com/ToeiAnimationUS
Twitch.tv/ToeiAnimation
Facebook.com/ToeiAnimationLATAM
Instagram.com/ToeiAnimationLATAM
Twitter.com/ToeiAnimationLA
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