Amazon MGM Japan Doubles Spending to Match Global Quality

Amazon MGM Studios Japan will double its financial commitment to production, a move designed to ensure its content meets international standards. Studio head Buddy Marini announced the plan on Wednesday during a session at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

The event was part of the TIFFCOM market and was organized by the Motion Picture Association and UniJapan. Marini, who was appointed to lead the Japan studio in March, oversees its films, series, and anime. He previously served as managing director of Warner Bros. Discovery Japan and CEO of Hulu Japan. Marini also founded the platform Mangamo, which he described as handling the entire process from initial concept to finished product.

The core of the strategy involves expanding into the global market across all genres. Marini noted that Amazon’s approach is distinct because movies are one of several benefits included with Prime membership. While the primary goal is to delight audiences in specific regions, the global nature of the service means viewers often do not care about a title’s country of origin. Marini stated, "If it's interesting, it's interesting."

Upcoming projects include "The Apothecary Diaries," a live-action adaptation of a historical mystery franchise, and "Bless," based on a manga about an aspiring makeup artist. Marini pointed to "The Silent Service" as a past success on Prime. That series follows a rogue Japanese submarine captain who hijacks a U.S. sub. He described the results as remarkable but acknowledged that sustaining such quality is difficult. Marini identified reverse-engineering as the most important factor in building globally resonant intellectual property. Creative staff work closely with screenwriters on scripts to achieve this.

Matsuhashi Shinzo, CEO of Credeus, also spoke at the session. His producing credits include "Kokuho," which set an all-time box office record for Japanese live-action films last year. He also produced "Kingdom," "Gintama," "Blue Lock," and "Golden Kamuy." Matsuhashi joined Wowow in 1994 and made his producing debut with "Battle Royale." He founded Credeus about eight years ago after going independent in 2005.

Matsuhashi outlined his production ratio, which prioritizes an interesting story, a strong script, an excellent director and crew, and a great cast. Films he has produced have passed 100 billion yen, or $633 million, in cumulative box office this year. His breakthrough project was "Kingdom," a manga-based series set in China's Warring States period. Launched in 2019, it is now at five features. Matsuhashi said Sanford Panitch, then in charge of international production at Sony Pictures, approached him about making local films.

Matsuhashi asked Panitch whether he wanted to fill a quota of three films or revolutionize Japanese movies. Panitch chose the latter and signed on to a three-film plan. Each of those films earned more than 5 billion yen, or $31.7 million. Matsuhashi has negotiated a success fee on all his projects for more than two decades. He said this practice has gradually become established in Japan.

Steven Maeda, executive producer of Netflix's live-action "One Piece" series, joined the discussion. Maeda’s other credits include "Lost," "The X-Files," and "Lie to Me." He is currently adapting the Eisner-winning graphic novel "Monstress" for Amazon Prime Video with Tiff Greshler and Hivemind Entertainment. Maeda noted that Netflix initially wanted "One Piece" made as cheaply as possible. The team argued that a show fans would appreciate would also draw a new audience.

Maeda described the challenge of balancing faithfulness for devoted fans with accessibility for newcomers. He stated, "That's the battle of a lot of global IP. And if you succeed, you can have an international success. And if you fail, everyone hates you."