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GKIDS Acquires Ghibli Library For UK and Ireland Cinema Screenings, Starting With Kiki in IMAX in August
posted on by Andrew Osmond
GKIDS has announced on its website that it has acquired the UK and Ireland distribution rights to a library of 23 films by Studio Ghibli. GKIDS also announces the IMAX cinema release of three films, starting with Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service on August 21. Tickets will go on sale on July 9 at www.gkids.co.uk/studio-ghibli.
The announcement also mentions future UK and Ireland IMAX releases for Hiromasa Yonebayashi's 2010 film Arrietty and for Yoshifumi Kondō's 1995 film Whisper of the Heart.
The announcement adds, "Fans can look forward to additional IMAX releases of new Studio Ghibli 4K Remasters in Fall [Autumn] 2026 and beyond, plus the re-release of the entire library across all home video platforms. Most of the Ghibli titles have had limited availability in the territory for several years."
The GKIDS announcement also specifically mentions the acquisition of Spirited Away, The Boy and the Heron, Howl's Moving Castle, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, The Wind Rises, When Marnie Was There, Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, and Castle in the Sky.
The GKIDS announcement does not mention Grave of the Fireflies. However, that film was previously acquired for the UK and Ireland by Anime Limited in August 2025. In Janauary 2026, Anime Limited announced it would release Grave of the Fireflies to cinemas sometime in 2026.
In its own Ghibli announcement, GKIDS says it will be working in close partnership with Anime Limited, which shares the same parent company, TOHO Global.
The deal was negotiated by Eric Beckman at GKIDS and Vincent Maraval at Goodfellas, the sales agent for Studio Ghibli worldwide.
GKIDS has long handled the Ghibli films in North America. In the GKIDS statement, the company president David Jesteadt says, "GKIDS is delighted to extend our relationship with Studio Ghibli into the UK and Ireland, and to have this opportunity to reintroduce these incomparable films to audiences old and new. We promise UK and Irish fans that we will take loving care of the Ghibli catalogue, beginning with the IMAX release of Kiki's Delivery Service this summer, and expand from there across all home video and digital platforms."
The Studio Ghibli films were previously distributed in the UK and Ireland by Elysian Film Group Distribution Limited, but it went into liquidation in June 2026.
Source: GKIDS website
