Anime industry hits record high: $28.5 billion in 2025

The Japanese anime industry closed 2025 with a record $28.5 billion (4.491 trillion yen), up 15.8% from the previous year. The Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) presented the data this Friday, October 30, at TIFFCOM, the audiovisual market of the Tokyo International Film Festival.

It is the first time the sector has crossed the 4 trillion yen ($25.4 billion) mark. The figure includes revenue from television, film, video, streaming, merchandise, events, and overseas licensing.

The main driver remains outside Japan. International sales reached $16.1 billion, a record and 17.2% more than in 2024. The domestic market also grew: $12 billion, up 14%.

This makes three consecutive years with overseas revenue above the domestic market. The gap is widening: 57.1% of everything anime generates comes from outside Japan.

Japan's government wants to double exports

The figures come at a time when the Japanese government has its eye on the industry. Its goal is for anime to generate 6 trillion yen ($38 billion) a year in exports by 2033, double the current amount.

The plan is part of the "IP360" initiative, through which Japan aims for all of its entertainment to produce 20 trillion yen ($127 billion) overseas by that same year.

"We have entered an era where it is no longer rare to see Japanese animation topping box offices or streaming charts abroad," said Masahiro Hasegawa, editor-in-chief of the AJA annual report. "Anime has broken barriers."

Films helped a lot. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle grossed $793 million worldwide and became the highest-grossing Japanese film in history.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castlegoogle.com

Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc also shone, with $191 million, and Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback, with $162 million.

Studios also break records

The report also details animation studio revenue, which generated $3.2 billion in 2025, a record and 8.4% more than in 2024. 27.9% of those sales came from outside Japan, up from 25.5% the previous year.

The reason is simple: more and more studios own a share of the intellectual property they animate, giving them direct access to international revenue.

Hasegawa noted that the key to future growth will be the ability of production companies to understand and adapt to the cultures, languages, and laws of the regions where they want to expand, as well as to fight piracy.

Production I.G and Nippon Animation look to new markets

In the same panel, Yoko Ueda, director of corporate administration and IP and communications at Production I.G, said the studio is cultivating new audiences in Saudi Arabia and India. Part of its global strategy is getting involved in projects from the start.

Ueda gave a concrete example: when they animated the anime section of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill in 2003, they did it as a contracted studio. With Star Wars: The Ninth Jedi, from this year, they came on as creative partners.

The studio is also working to make its brand known as such, not just its titles: it organizes panels at Anime Expo and other international conventions to promote the studio itself.

Hitomi Hiratsuka, director of international sales and productions at Nippon Animation, insisted on thinking by regions and not about a generic "overseas" market. "We cannot think only of the general overseas market; we have to pay attention to the particularities of each region," she said.

Nippon Animation will continue betting on children's and family animation. Hiratsuka explained it like this: "Although the birth rate has fallen in Japan and elsewhere, there are children all over the world, and we want them to grow up as the next generation of anime fans."

New anime awards in 2027

TIFFCOM also served to announce the launch of new anime industry awards. They will be presented for the first time in 2027, and more details are expected on November 2 during the Tokyo Anime Next event.

The panel included anime producer and Hollywood Academy member Yuichiro Saito, A-1 Pictures president Akira Shimizu, and Toho Animation general manager Masaya Saito. Without giving details, they said the awards will not be decided by fan vote, like the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, but by industry professionals.

"I hope the awards focus on creators and give viewers a new, deeper perspective on how the animation they love is produced," said Masaya Saito.