GKIDS is distributing a run of anniversary theatrical engagements and home video editions, and its next scheduled release is a live-action Look Back screening on December 30.
GKIDS' recent release slate pairs limited theatrical engagements with home video editions announced from the same Anime Expo panel. The distributor acquired North American theatrical rights to Adolescence of Utena and screened it in Japanese with English subtitles on June 21 and 22, 2026, following a 4K remaster of Tekkonkinkreet in theaters May 31 and June 1. Tekkonkinkreet was directed by Michael Arias and animated by STUDIO4°C, and a 4K UHD Blu-ray and digital download release was said to follow later in the year without a date. On the disc side, GKIDS set a 4K UHD Collector's Edition of Look Back for September 8, a 4K UHD Collector's Edition of the Angel's Egg remaster for September 22, and a Blu-ray of Hideaki Anno's live-action Love & Pop for October 6. A Collector's Edition Blu-ray of Kyoto Animation's CITY The Animation is scheduled for December 15 through the online store.
The theatrical calendar leans on anniversary and event formats. Your Name returned on August 14 in a 4K remaster for its 10th anniversary, with tickets sold for both the Japanese track and an English dub, ahead of 4K UHD Steelbook and Blu-ray releases on August 25. Baku Kinoshita's The Last Blossom, animated by Studio CLAP, played U.S. theaters for two nights, August 30 and 31, in Japanese with English subtitles.
The most recent announcement moves into live action. GKIDS will screen the live-action Look Back in select North American theaters on December 30, with a wider release on January 15. Hirokazu Kore-eda directed, edited, and wrote the screenplay, with Aju Makita and Natsuki Deguchi in the lead roles. The film opened in Japan on September 11 at #5 and earned 144,146,120 yen in its first three days.
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GKIDS will screen the live-action Look Back film in select North American theaters on December 30, with a wider release on January 15. The film opened in Japan on September 11 at #5 and earned 144,146,120 yen in its first three days. Hirokazu Kore-eda directed, edited, and wrote the screenplay, with Aju Makita and Natsuki Deguchi in the lead roles.
GKIDS announced on Thursday that Kyoto Animation's CITY The Animation, the television anime of Keiichi Arawi's CITY manga, will be released in a Collector's Edition Blu-ray Disc on December 15, sold on its online store. The set carries a 72-page booklet, four art cards, an A3 poster, cut out movies 1-13, previews, TV spots, a team preview, and creditless opening and ending sequences. The series streamed worldwide on Amazon Prime Video in July 2025.
The Last Blossom, the first original feature-length anime from Odd Taxi director Baku Kinoshita, opens in select U.S. theaters this weekend. GKIDS, the film's North American distributor, is releasing it for two nights only, August 30 and 31, in Japanese with English subtitles. The film premiered in competition at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival before opening in Japan last October under the title Housenka. The story follows Akutsu, a former yakuza serving a life sentence, who recounts his life to a sarcastic talking flower growing from a tin can. Kinoshita directed and designed the characters, reuniting with Odd Taxi writer Kazuya Konomoto, who wrote the original story and screenplay. Animation was handled by Studio CLAP, known for Pompo the Cinephile. In an interview with Anime Herald, Kinoshita discussed his interest in criminals as people who live in the moment, the Balsam flower as a wiser-than-human philosopher, and why the song Stand By Me appears in the film. He also noted that he currently leans toward television work because it offers more room to develop stories.
GKIDS will bring Makoto Shinkai's Your Name back to North American theaters on August 14 with a 4K remaster, marking the film's 10th anniversary. The distributor began streaming a trailer for the screening on Wednesday. Tickets are already on sale for showings in both the original Japanese and an English-language dub. The 2016 film, animated by CoMix Wave Films, follows Mitsuha, a rural teenager, and Taki, a Tokyo student, who wake up in each other's bodies and uncover a connection that spans time. Your Name became an international hit, earning more than $400 million worldwide, and won best animated feature at the Sitges Film Festival, plus honors for animation, directing, screenplay, and music at the Japan Academy Film Prize. The theatrical re-release joins several other Shinkai films that GKIDS distributes, including Weathering with You, 5 Centimeters per Second, Children Who Chase Lost Voices, and The Place Promised in Our Early Days. The film will also receive new 4K UHD Steelbook and Blu-ray Disc home video releases on August 25.
GKIDS announced during its Anime Expo panel on Sunday several home video releases, including a 4K UHD Collector's Edition for Look Back on September 8, a 4K UHD Collector's Edition for the 4K remaster of Angel's Egg on September 22, and a Blu-ray Disc release for Hideaki Anno's live-action film Love & Pop on October 6.
GKIDS will screen Baku Kinoshita and Kadzuya Konomoto's original anime film The Last Blossom in U.S. theaters on August 30-31. The film, which opened in Japan on October 10 and played at Annecy in 2025, follows a dying former yakuza reminiscing with a talking flower. CLAP handled animation production.
GKIDS announced on May 28 that it has acquired the North American theatrical rights for Kunihiko Ikuhara's 1999 anime film Adolescence of Utena. The distributor will screen the movie in Japanese with English subtitles in U.S. theaters on June 21 and 22, 2026. Tickets are now on sale. GKIDS also released a new trailer and poster alongside the announcement. The film is a surreal retelling of the Revolutionary Girl Utena television series, which aired in 1997. It follows Utena Tenjou as she enrolls at Ohtori Academy and becomes entangled in duels over the Rose Bride, Anthy Himemiya. The creative team includes screenwriter Yoji Enokido, art director Shichiro Kobayashi, and composer J.A. Seazer. The film was produced by J.C.Staff and originally premiered in Japan on August 14, 1999. Previous North American home video releases came from Central Park Media on DVD and VHS, and the film has streamed on RetroCrush, Funimation, and Tubi. This marks the first wide North American theatrical release for the film.
GKIDS will screen a new 4K remaster of the 2006 anime film Tekkonkinkreet in North American theaters on May 31 and June 1. The two-night event marks the 20th anniversary of the feature, which was directed by Michael Arias and animated by STUDIO4°C. It is the first nationwide U.S. theatrical release for the title. Tickets are on sale now. The screenings will offer both the original Japanese language track and the English dub. A 4K UHD Blu-ray and digital download release will follow later in the year, though no date was given. The film adapts the Eisner Award-winning manga by Taiyo Matsumoto. It won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Animation of the Year in 2008 and the Ofuji Noburo Award at the 2006 Mainichi Film Awards, among other honors. The remaster continues an active period between GKIDS and STUDIO4°C. The distributor released the studio's All You Need is Kill in January and will release ChaO on April 10. Previous collaborations include Mind Game and Children of the Sea.