How Anime Can Help Save Theaters
Mitchel Berger of Crunchyroll on cultivating an under-appreciated corner of fandom.
Subscribe to the show on these podcast platforms:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Others
Bulwark+ members can comment on the show or access our ad-free edition of the Bulwark Goes to Hollywood podcast, here.
On this week’s episode, Sonny talks to Mitchel Berger, SVP of global commerce at Crunchyroll, about the continually “surprising” success of Crunchyroll’s (and, previously, Funimation’s) anime theatrical releases. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero opened atop the box office a couple of weekends ago with $20 million; last year Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train grossed nearly $50 million during its run. How did Crunchyroll help create and nurture this fandom to the point where they can open a movie on traditionally dead weekends with a fraction of the advertising spend of your typical mid-or-low-budget release? If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend!
Love to see an episode on Cyberpunk Edgerunners! Seems to be not just an interesting cross between video games and movies, but also the timing (released after the 1.5 patch of 2077, when the game is really good) and the way playercounts have grown as a result.
Also Edgerunners is just great. 👍👍