Hong Kong-based Medialink, a specialist distributor of Japanese manga and animations, has lined up several major releases in the region in the coming months.
While Dream Animals The Movie, the first film based on the animal biscuit characters, is set for a summer release in Hong Kong, both Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon, featuring a recap of season one and a new original episode, and Gintama On Theatre 2D Kintama-hen, part of the Gintama’s 20th anniversary celebration, will be released in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
Publicly listed Hong Kong company Medialink has operations in mainland China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
Last year, it scored the biggest slate, having released about a dozen film titles. These include Blue Lock, its first release in mainland China that grossed $4.6m, and Haikyu!!: The Dumpster Battle, which became the biggest and the third biggest Japanese film in Taiwan ($8.2m) and in Hong Kong (US$1.9m) respectively of that year and achieved outstanding results in Southeast Asia.
There is a growing demand for Japanese animations in the region. To further captivate audience attention, Medialink CEO Lovinia Chiu said: “Premium goods giveaways are key to boosting ticket sales. Importing items from Japan would be very appealing to local audiences. We can also create goods locally to attract more people to the event.”
“Offering premium goods has become the norm for Japanese anime movies and has extended to all movies in the market,” she adds.
Medialink aims to continue the momentum into 2025. Further titles scheduled for this year include Me&Roboco The Movie and Kowloon Generic Romance, a live action mystery romance film set in Hong Kong, which are scheduled to open in both Hong Kong and Taiwan in September and October respectively.
To diversity its portfolio, Medialink recently distributed Yoasobi 5th anniversary dome live 2024 “Surrealism” as its first live concert film, which was well received in both Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Other than theatrical business, Medialink also acts as a sales agency for anime series content and manages global inflight sales to airlines.
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