With Kore-eda, Hamaguchi and Fukada in competition and a new generation pitching at the market, the country of honor is making the most of its moment.
It has been a very good year for Japanese cinema — and Cannes is where the country has come to prove it. In the main competition, buzz has been building around three of Japan’s previous Cannes heroes.
Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda . Produced by Yoshikazu Tsubaki and Kadokawa Corporation, the film follows a man haunted by a childhood acquaintance he blames for all his misfortunes, who begins plotting the man’s death.. Back home, the world’s third-largest film market saw annual revenues soar 32 percent to $1.79 billion in 2025, surpassing the pre-pandemic record of $1.70 billion set in 2019.
Production numbers are also at an all-time high, with 694 Japanese films released in 2025, beating the previous record of 689 , while 685 were released in 2024. , an animated film from Shin-Ei Animation and SynergySP, directed by Suzuki Kei and produced by Michihiko Umezawa, follows a high school boy who discovers a drawing of fireworks bearing his name and a future date — only for the girl carrying it to vanish, replaced by her identical-looking great-grandmother from the past.
“What has always been important to us is the idea that even the smallest moments can carry a sense of warmth, humor, and sometimes a quiet sense of wonder,” says Umezawa. “is part of that ongoing journey. While the storyline begins with something very local, the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival, the film speaks about universal ideas of memory, time, and the way emotions can be shared across generations. At its heart, this is also a coming-of-age love story.
I think one of the strengths of anime is that it allows the ordinary and the imaginative to exist naturally side by side. ”. The producer says they are all rooted in everyday life, something that a significant share of Japan’s animated content has in common, which allows “the ordinary and the imaginative to exist naturally side by side.
” “We have always been interested in how ordinary everyday life can feel vivid when you look at it from a slightly different perspective,” he says.
“A simple passing moment between family members or friends can sometimes stay with you for a lifetime. Animation gives us the freedom to express those feelings in a more direct and sometimes more poetic way. It does not need to rely only on realism to feel true to life. Because of that, anime stories can travel across cultures while still feeling authentic and personal.
That sense of emotional recognition across different cultures and backgrounds is one of the reasons anime continues to resonate with global audiences. ”, produced by Takahashi Naoya with sales through Toei Company. A journalist haunted by a twin kidnapping case is drawn back into the mystery 30 years later, following the death of the detective who worked it, and into the orbit of a strange realist painter.
), produced by Sato Gen through Toei Video Company with Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures handling sales. The film follows Daiki, a janitor who has managed his life with autism spectrum disorder with the help of his sister — until she decides to get married, leaving him facing an uncertain future alone. For all involved, the opportunity carries real weight.
“Not only in terms of exposure, but also in how we connect with the‘The Electric Kiss’ Review: The Power Is Out in Pierre Salvadori’s 1920s Comedy Romance, Which Opens Cannes With a FizzleThe Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2026 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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