Japan’s anime industry generated a record $28.5 billion (4.5 trillion yen) in sales in 2025, marking a 15.8% rise in yen terms from the previous year. Overseas revenue reached around $16 billion, overtaking the domestic market, which brought in approximately $12 billion.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) announced the figures and shared highlights from its Anime Industry Report 2026 during its annual session on the final day of TIFFCOM, the content market held alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival.
The figures cover the industry’s overall revenue from cinema releases, streaming, television rights, licensing, merchandise and anime-related events. Overseas sales first surpassed domestic revenue in 2020.
The success of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle helped drive growth in both markets. The film earned around $800 million worldwide, although some of that revenue came in 2026. It generated approximately $250 million (40 billion yen) in Japan, making it the highest-grossing anime and Japanese film of all time. The franchise’s previous film also earned 40 billion yen in Japan, but did not achieve comparable success overseas.
“More than anything else, it is vital that we build a good ecosystem for the creators who develop the productions, and all the people around them, so they can concentrate on creating stories,” said Kazuko Ishikawa, president of the AJA and Nippon Animation, in her opening remarks.
Ishikawa also highlighted the Japanese government’s target of generating $130 billion (20 trillion yen) in overseas sales of Japanese content by 2033 under its IP360 strategy. Anime is expected to contribute 6 trillion yen towards that goal.
Revenue at anime production studios also increased by 8.4%, reaching $3.2 billion (506 billion yen). Overseas studios accounted for a record $880 million (140 billion yen) of that revenue.
The weak yen reduces the value of the industry’s figures when converted into US dollars. However, it also increases the value of overseas earnings for Japanese animation companies when they convert the money back into yen.
Masahiro Hasegawa, chief editor of the AJA report, pointed to anime’s strong presence in IMDb’s television rankings, which are based on user votes. Attack on Titan topped the list, while Death Note ranked third, between Rick and Morty and The Simpsons.
The latest figures follow growth of nearly 15% in the previous year, when the industry reached a record $25 billion (3.8 trillion yen). The expansion reflects the continued rise of anime’s international fanbase.
Since the AJA began publishing industry figures in 2002, the market has almost tripled.
