"Belle" Director Mamoru Hosoda’s Princess Tale "Scarlet" Finds Home at Sony

Sony Pictures has partnered with Studio CHIZU and Nippon TV to co-produce and co-finance “Scarlet,” the new animated feature from Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda.

The movie will receive global distribution through Sony Pictures, with a U.S. theatrical release planned for winter 2025. Toho will handle Japanese theatrical distribution.

The collaboration marks Sony Pictures’ first venture with Studio CHIZU, the animation studio co-founded by Hosoda and producer Yuichiro Saito in 2011. 

The film’s producing team includes Saito, alongside Toshimi Tanio from Nippon TV and Nozomu Takahashi from Studio CHIZU.

“Scarlet” centers on a princess who transcends time and space. 

The project follows Hosoda’s “Belle” (2021), which premiered at Cannes and became his highest-grossing film to date.

Hosoda’s journey in animation began at Toei Animation in 1991. After directing “Digimon Adventure” (1999) and its sequel “Digimon Adventure: Our War Game!” (2000), he gained widespread recognition with “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” (2006). 

The movie captured the inaugural Japan Academy Prize for Best Animation and launched a string of successful features including “Summer Wars” (2009), which earned him an Annie Award nomination for Best Director and screened at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Through Studio CHIZU, Hosoda has continued to expand his creative vision with “Wolf Children” (2012), “The Boy and the Beast” (2015), and “Mirai” (2018), the latter securing an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.

Studio CHIZU, established in April 2011, focuses on animated film development and production, with a stated mission to explore new creative territories in animation.