If there are still people who believe that Japanese animation is just a temporary niche, the new financial reports from Sony Pictures Entertainment have just given them a huge dose of reality. The corporation closed its fiscal year in March 2026, and the numbers were nearly tense. It turns out the company faced a multi-million dollar loss after the permanent closure of its visual effects unit, Pixomondo. Everything seemed set for a harsh blow to its profit charts, but anime came to the rescue as the absolute hero of the season.

The box office that rescued the corporation

When looking at the hard data, it’s clear that the otaku community was the one supporting the company’s wallet this year. The awaited film Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle was an absolute powerhouse in cinemas, earning an incredible $354 million worldwide. And they weren’t alone in this financial battle. The acclaimed film Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc also contributed its share, adding another $118 million to the total. Together, these productions managed to balance the scales and offset the setbacks the studio faced in other business areas.

The absolute dominance of the orange empire

But the magic didn’t just happen on the big screen. The report also highlighted the massive growth of Crunchyroll, the streaming platform that is now, without a doubt, the central pillar of Sony. The subscription service broke its own record by reaching 21 million paid users, a monumental leap considering that last year it barely touched 17 million. The company executives publicly acknowledged that this milestone reflects how anime has become a dominant form of entertainment worldwide.

Basically, if you remove Sony’s Japanese licenses right now, its numbers would be telling a very different story. Knowing that animated projects are carrying a large portion of a major producer’s global profits, do you think traditional cinemas will eventually depend on anime releases to survive in the future, or will Hollywood regain its usual strength at the box office?