Crunchyroll Plans Full Awards Push For Makoto Shinkai’s ‘Suzume’
Suzume will be getting a full push for the next awards season by Crunchyroll, the distributor confirmed today. The film has already been a box office hit in several Asian markets and has grossed $182 million from just seven territories ahead of its U.S. release on April 14.
Box office recognition alone isn’t enough for a film to get awards season love, however. Suzume’s case is bolstered by a Berlin competition screening, the first for an anime film since 2002. Crunchyroll has proven to be a distribution powerhouse since being acquired by Sony in 2021. Suzume will be the first major test of the company’s ability to elevate a film to major awards recognition.
With the upcoming theatrical releases of Suzume and Hayao Miyazaki’s How do You Live?, 2023 is shaping up to be a banner year for prestige anime. It also looks like it could be a true passing of the torch moment, with Miyazaki’s final film potentially going head-to-head with Shinkai’s latest for awards consideration.
Along with the announcement of the film’s awards push, Crunchyroll also released a new English-language trailer featuring the recently announced dubbed voice cast.
Led by Nichole Sakura, Suzume’s voice lineup includes Josh Keaton, Jennifer Sun Bell, Joe Zieja, Rosalie Chang, Amanda C. Miller, Mela Lee, and Cam Clarke. Bill Millsap directed the English-language voice actors.
Other international theatrical rollouts are planned in the near future, with Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment teaming up to distribute the film in Latin America, Australia/New Zealand, the Middle East, and portions of Europe. Meanwhile, those companies will work with Wild Bunch Germany and Eurozoom to distribute in French- and German-speaking Europe.
