Major Japanese film group Toei Company has reorganized its senior management following the death of Tezuka Osamu, its CEO and president. And it unveiled a new ten-year plan that calls for investment and international expansion.
Tezuka, who is not a relation of the late anime director of the same name, was 62. He joined Toei in April 1983 and worked for the company for close to 40 years, becoming a board director in 2012 and managing director in 2016. He was elevated to president and CEO in 2020.
The cause of and precise date of Tezuka’s death was not revealed. A ceremony for family members will be held privately. Toei will hold a memorial event for colleagues and industry members.
The group, which includes film and TV production operations, the T-Joy cinema chain and Toei Animation, said that MD Tada Noriyuki, has been appointed as president.
Toei also issued a new document setting out its ten-year strategic plan to 2033. And it noted that its current financial year, which runs to the end of March 2023, has already broken the company record for its highest grossing box office year. That is thanks to the success of titles including “The First Slam Dunk,” “The Legend of Butterfly” and “One Piece Film Red.”
The strategy document says that the company recognizes that the world has become a globalized content market, acknowledges the power poof the streamers and says that audiences are becoming more diverse. Toei’s response is to focus on original content that has global appeal, a longer life-cycle and which can be used in multiple formats and derivatives.
Over the coming ten years, Toei aims to grow international revenue as a share of its total from a present-day 30% to 50% by 2033.
To achieve this, the document charts an investment phase from the present to 2028 and a payback phase running 2029-2033, with implementation overlapping the two.
Specific steps include the expansion of production into offshore centers, including the U.S., and The Philippines, and the Japanese release of more international content. Recent examples include its “Voltes V Legacy” with The Philippines GMA, “The Journey” with a Saudi Arabian partner, and “Spicy Candy,” produced through its Shanghai subsidiary with a Chinese partner.
In-house it aims to produce two live-action films per year (on in Tokyo, one in Kyoto) and one major animation film each capable of grossing JPY3 billion ($23 million).
It will invest in technology such as virtual production, AI and digital humans, and, with actual humans, develop somewhat un-Japanese compensation structures based on results, rather than seniority.
Further spending will be directed to the studio facilities in both cities, as well as on investment properties that provide a more stable income source than content production and distribution.
Read More About:
Source: Read Full Article