Tetsu Fujimura, CEO of Filosophia Inc. and a producer on Netflix’s One Piece, used his Cannes Film Market keynote to map how Japanese IP — from manga and anime to games — has become a primary source for Hollywood adaptations and global entertainment franchises. The session, titled “The Future of Japanese IP in Global Adaptations,” was presented as part of Japan’s Country of Honor program supported by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and JETRO.
Fujimura opened with long-term box office trends showing the rise of IP-based films, noting that franchise and IP-driven titles now make up more than 80% of top global releases compared with roughly 10%–20% in the 1970s and 1980s. Recent global leaders include Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, while anime-origin films such as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle are increasingly placing in worldwide top lists.
To illustrate Japan’s IP scale, Fujimura cited Titlemax numbers showing 10 Japanese franchises in the global top 25 by lifetime revenue, led by Pokémon at $92.1 billion and followed by Hello Kitty, Anpanman, Super Mario and Shonen Jump. Fan polls place One Piece among the most popular global fandoms, underscoring the cross-border appeal of manga-derived properties.
He flagged a structural market shift, referencing reporting that the combined market cap of Japan’s top entertainment companies briefly exceeded that of the country’s leading automakers, and pointed to industry forecasts projecting dramatic growth for anime and manga markets over the next decade. Gaming is also forecast to remain a massive global market, further strengthening the pipeline from Japanese interactive IP to film and TV adaptations.
Filosophia’s research traced adaptation volume by decade — 25 Japanese IP adaptations in the 1990s, 52 in the 2000s, 101 in the 2010s, and 88 so far this decade — showing accelerating demand. Regionally, Asia (led by South Korea) drives the highest volume and skews toward TV, where novels and manga are the dominant source formats; the U.S. and Europe favor film, with games accounting for a large share of Western projects.
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Hollywood’s development slate is broad: J.J. Abrams’ adaptation of Your Name at Paramount, Mobile Suit Gundam at Legendary, One Punch Man and Astro Boy at Sony Pictures, Naruto at Lionsgate, Attack on Titan at Warner Bros., My Hero Academia at Netflix and Elden Ring at A24, among others. Game-to-screen projects like Metal Gear Solid, Ghost of Tsushima and Death Stranding highlight how gaming IP is now a major source for Western studios, while TV adaptations including Claymore, Rashomon, Speed Racer, Samurai Champloo, Steins;Gate, Pokemon and God of War are in active development across platforms.
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Fujimura drew on his own career to show how long, collaborative development paths often are: he and Avi Arad spent 10 years developing Ghost in the Shell before its 2017 release, and he later partnered with Tomorrow Studios on Netflix’s One Piece. The series debuted in 2023, ranked No. 1 in 86 countries and logged 54 million views and 410 million hours watched in its first 25 days; Season 2 earned a 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and Season 3 is in production for 2027.
Beyond screen adaptations, Fujimura highlighted stage and music as meaningful growth areas: a Japanese-language West End production of Spirited Away drew some 300,000 attendees in 2024 and later toured Shanghai and Seoul, while anime-related streaming on platforms like Spotify surged and YOASOBI’s “Idol” from Oshi no Ko became the first Japanese-language song to top the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart.
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He also pointed to local-market reinterpretations as evidence of adaptability: China’s top film of 2024, YOLO, was a remake of Japanese film 100 Yen Love and grossed roughly $486 million, showing Japanese stories can be successfully remade for other audiences.
Fujimura stressed that while major IPs are largely committed to studios and streamers, momentum is shifting toward a “next tier” of properties. “Attention is starting to shift toward the next tier of IPs,” he said. “These are titles that might not be as well known yet, but they’ve got incredible potential. And the scope is widening. We’re seeing momentum across novels, light novels, and even indie games.”
“I truly believe a remarkable future lies ahead for Japan’s IP, which contains some of the richest creative resources in the world,” Fujimura added. “With the power of these IPs, I’m confident we can create entertainment that resonates with audiences everywhere – whether in live action, animation, stage productions, or music.”
