It’s no secret thatanimehas enjoyed a massive worldwide boom in popularity over the last few years, breaking down language and cultural barriers,and burrowing its way into the hearts of fans globally. Not only has increased interest in the art form resulted in a greater presence of anime on streaming services around the globe, but it has also led to an enormous growth in revenue across the anime industry.
A new report from Parrot Analytics, a company which measures and provides analysis of audience demand,has revealed that anime earned $19.8 billion in 2023from streaming and merchandise sales. Alejandro Rojas, Vice President of Applied Analytics at Parrot, touches on anime’s presence not just in streaming and film, but in other markets like gaming, saying “Japan is at the heart of the global entertainment ecosystem, and anime is a clear testament to its creative power.”
It has also been found that there is somewhat of a shift occurring on the most popular streaming platforms, as specific serviceshave begun targeting anime as an area of interestto bring new demographics to their platforms. Netflix and Hulu in particularhave stepped up their selections of anime, in efforts to capitalize on the budding global industry. Audiences in North America have exploded in size following the 2020 pandemic, and anime’s 2023 global revenue reflects that growth.
Anime Brought in Record-Breaking Revenue in 2023
Popular Releases Led to a Successful Year in Anime
According to Parrot Analytics, the anime industry’sreported $19.8 billion revenue in 2023 was record-breaking. Of those earnings, $5.5 billion came from streaming, while $14.3 billion was earned from merchandise sales. The total number is indicative of an ever-growing market with an insatiable hunger for the next big release, while the streaming portion showcases how profitable it is for larger platforms to incorporate anime into their catalogs.
The record-breaking performance isn’t all that surprising eitherwhen taking into account the number of high-quality releases in 2023. Titans of the industry likeDemon Slayer,Jujutsu Kaisen, andVinland Sagaallreleased highly acclaimed and successful seasons, whileOne Pieceexperienced a massive boom from the anime’s unveiling of Luffy’s Gear 5. The second season ofSpy x Family, which became a sensation following its first season, also released and was able to keep its strong momentum with a film announcement.
Newcomers to the scene also contributed to the hype machine, with successful debuts from series likeBlue LockandHell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku. Though other massive revenue-generating franchises likeDragon Ballwere largely dormant in 2023, the industry was able to generate all-time earnings. 2024 also saw incredibly popular anime series resume airing, andit wouldn’t be surprising if this past year’s revenue surpasses that generated in 2023.
North America Contributes Greatly to Anime’s Global Revenue
North America and Asia Team-Up to Generate the Majority of Anime’s Revenue
Parrot also reported which markets generated the majority of anime’s revenue during 2023, revealing that North America and Asia combined for the largest contribution toward earnings. Of the $19.8 billion, $14.3 billion was generated in North America and Asia,with the former contributing a staggering 41% of all streaming revenue. The increased focus on anime on platforms like Netflix and Hulu, as well as the steady growth of services like Crunchyroll have undoubtedly contributed to the large number.
Surprisingly, North America barely trailed Asia in merchandise revenue, generating $4.97 billion to Asia’s $5.46 billion. Together, the two marketscombined to account for an incredibly high 73% of all global merchandise revenue. While the number may be shocking to some, it isn’t all that surprising when taking into account the increasingly common collaborations between Western brands and popular anime, as well as anime-focused online retailers cropping up daily.
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In total, anime accounted for 6% of the total global streaming revenue in 2023, which may not seem like much, but is rather impressive when having to compete with the domination of American film and television. What is even more impressive isNorth America’s ability to surpass Asia’s streaming revenue, considering anime is native to the market. With platforms continuing to incorporate more and more anime into their libraries, that number should only rise as time goes on.
Netflix Has Won the Battle of Streaming Services, Overtaking Crunchyroll
Netflix’s Increased Focus on Anime Has Overtaken Crunchyroll’s Market Share
One of the final findings in Parrot’s report claims that Netflix, one of the most popular streaming services on the planet,generated more revenue from anime than Crunchyroll for the first time. Earning $2 billion, Netflix accounted for 38% of all anime streaming revenue.A graph from Parrot that surfaced on Xshows that not only did Netflix surpass Crunchyroll, but blew them out of the water entirely, nearly doubling their revenue for the year.A separate reportfrom earlier in the year touched on the importance of demographics, and why streaming platforms are so enthusiastically increasing their anime selections.
Of all the major streaming platforms, only Crunchyroll and Hidive boast a majority male audience. In bringing anime to their own platforms, services like Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Videoare hoping to tap into that male demographicwhich they’re sorely lacking.Netflix’s growth in the anime industry isn’t all that shocking, as the platform continues to release popular series, likeDandadanandRanma 1/2,exclusively on their platform. Though Crunchyroll was overtaken by Netflix by a wide margin, the platform still holds a sizable lead on the third place Hulu.
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Anime’s popularity worldwide has exploded in recent years, and its 2023 record-breaking revenue is proof of that. The industry’s massive gains from North America, generating nearly the same amount from anime streaming and merchandise as Asia, showcases anime’s growth as a worldwide staple of entertainment. With platforms like Netflix eager to expand their libraries,that number will likely only increase in the coming years. 2024 was also a year filled with exciting releases, and it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if the industry’s earnings further increase in the next report.
Source:Parrot Analytics
Netflix
Netflix is a global streaming service offering on-demand access to movies, TV shows, documentaries, and original content. Founded in 1997 as a DVD rental service, it transitioned to streaming in 2007 and now operates in over 190 countries.
