GKIDS holds North American rights to the live-action adaptation of Makoto Shinkai's 5 Centimeters per Second and will open it in North American theaters on October 23, 2026. Home video details are promised later in the year.
The live-action film of Makoto Shinkai's 5 Centimeters per Second opened in Japan in October 2025, where it ranked second in its opening weekend with 278,000 tickets sold and 420 million yen (about US$2.78 million) earned over three days. Yoshiyuki Okuyama directs, SixTONES member Hokuto Matsumura stars, and Kenshi Yonezu performs the theme song.
North American distribution took shape in two steps. On Saturday, August 27, 2026, GKIDS announced it had acquired North American rights to the film alongside the anime Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. At that point the plan was simply to screen the live-action 5 Centimeters per Second in North American theaters.
By October 8, 2026, that plan had a date: a North American theatrical run starting October 23. GKIDS streamed an English-subtitled trailer and said home video details would follow later in the year. The same announcement confirmed the Japanese opening figures and the opening-weekend rank, which the earlier licensing story had already reported.
What remains open is the home video release itself. GKIDS has committed to sharing details later in 2026 but has not given a format or date, and no further Japanese performance figures have been reported beyond the opening weekend.
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GKIDS will screen the live-action film of Makoto Shinkai's 5 Centimeters per Second in North American theaters starting October 23. The company streamed an English-subtitled trailer and says home video details will come later this year. The film opened in Japan in October 2025, sold 278,000 tickets and earned 420 million yen (about US$2.78 million) in its first three days, and ranked at #2 in its opening weekend.
GKIDS announced on Saturday that it has acquired North American rights to two films: the Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust anime and the live-action adaptation of Makoto Shinkai's 5 Centimeters per Second. The distributor will screen the Japanese-language version of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust with English subtitles in select theaters this fall, ahead of theatrical and home entertainment releases planned for 2027. The 2000 film, directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri at Madhouse, is based on Hideyuki Kikuchi's novel series and follows D, a half-vampire hunter hired to rescue a woman abducted by the vampire Baron Meier Link. Cartoon Brew notes the film was developed with an international audience in mind, with its English soundtrack recorded in Los Angeles before Japanese dialogue was completed. GKIDS will also screen the live-action 5 Centimeters per Second in North American theaters. That film opened in Japan in October 2025, ranking second in its opening weekend with 278,000 tickets sold and 420 million yen earned in three days. SixTONES member Hokuto Matsumura stars, Yoshiyuki Okuyama directs, and Kenshi Yonezu performs the theme song.