Thursday (October 17) saw HBO Max announce that it had acquired exclusive US streaming rights to the entire Studio Ghibli film library. In other words, well-known films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and Princess Mononoke will become available on-demand with a streaming service for the first time.
Before the deal, the films and other Ghibli content were only available either with purchased physical DVDs and the like or in select theaters as part of special screening programs. Now, though, most of the library will be available to subscribers upon HBO Max’s launch in spring 2020.
Chief content officer at HBO Max, Kevin Reilly, said: “Studio Ghibli films are visually breathtaking, completely immersive experiences.
“Exciting, enchanting, and deeply humanistic, these wonderful films have captured people’s hearts around the world, and we are proud to showcase them in an accessible way for even more fans through HBO Max.”
Koji Hoshino, chairman of Studio Ghibli, said: “We are excited to be working with HBO Max to bring the complete collection of Studio Ghibli films to streaming audiences in the US. As a premium content brand, HBO Max is an ideal home for our films.
“Upon launch of the service this spring, existing Ghibli fans will be able to enjoy their favorites and delve deeper into the library, while whole new audiences will be able to discover our films for the first time.”
