Amazon MGM Studios Japan to Double Investment in Local Content

Amazon MGM Studios Japan is doubling its content investment to bring Japanese productions up to global standards, studio head Buddy Marini announced Wednesday at the TIFFCOM market of the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Marini, appointed to lead the Japan studio in March, laid out the strategy during a session on unlocking the global potential of Japanese IP, organized by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and UniJapan. The panel also featured Credeus CEO Matsuhashi Shinzo and "One Piece" Netflix series executive producer Steven Maeda, with entertainment sociologist and consultant Nakayama Atsuo moderating.

"So we're doubling our investment to ensure that quality meets global standards," Marini said.

What does this change for Japanese content?

Marini's studio manages the full pipeline of homegrown film, series and anime. "It manages everything – from the initial idea stage through planning, development, strategy, investment, and all the way to the final product," he explained.

The basic strategy for Japan and the Amazon studio as a whole, he added, is to "expand into the global market." "There are all kinds of viewers, so the goal is to reach all of them," he said. "So we're handling all kinds of content, regardless of genre."

Marini argued that Amazon stands apart from rival platforms through the benefits it bundles into Prime membership, movies among them. "Our primary objective has always been to delight the audience in that specific country or region," he said. "But in doing that we've started to make our mark in various places around the world."

Because the service is global, audiences do not dwell on national origin. "Since our service is global, our audience isn't really concerned with which country the content is from," Marini said. "They just think, 'If it's interesting, it's interesting.'"

The upcoming slate includes two live-action adaptations:

• "The Apothecary Diaries," based on a bestselling historical mystery franchise
• "Bless," based on a hit manga about an aspiring makeup artist

Among the studio's past Japanese-language hits on Amazon Prime is "The Silent Service," a live-action series about a rogue Japanese submarine captain who hijacks a U.S. sub, drawn from a long-running manga that also spawned a hit anime. "We've achieved some amazing results with the series," Marini commented, "but it's difficult to maintain that level of quality."

His method for reaching global audiences is structural. "When it comes to elevating our content to IPs that can resonate globally, I truly believe that the reverse-engineering process is the most important factor," Marini said. "So, within our team, the creative staff works closely with the screenwriters to develop the scripts and ensure that from a global perspective, we're crafting a story that's truly compelling."

Marini arrived at the post with deep industry credentials. He previously served as managing director of Warner Bros. Discovery Japan and CEO of Hulu Japan, and founded the manga platform Mangamo.

How do you engineer a Japanese box-office hit?

Producer Matsuhashi Shinzo offered a formula drawn from one of the strongest track records in Japanese film. His credits include last year's "Kokuho," which set an all-time box office record for Japanese live-action films, as well as the "Kingdom" period action series, the "Gintama" action comedy series, "Blue Lock" and "Golden Kamuy." The films he has produced passed JPY100 billion ($633 million) in cumulative box office this year.

Matsuhashi joined Wowow in 1994, made his producing debut with "Battle Royale," went independent in 2005 and founded Credeus about eight years ago. "I realized I wouldn't be able to make the kind of work I envisioned unless I did that, so that's the choice I made," he said.

He calls his approach the "right production ratio." "First and foremost, the story has to be interesting," he said. "Then it needs to be turned into an interesting script. Then you bring in an excellent director and crew and assemble a great cast. I believe that only when these elements come together does a work come as close as possible to success."

His breakthrough was "Kingdom," a historical action series set in China's Warring States period and based on a popular manga. Launched in 2019, it now runs to five feature entries. The project began when Sanford Panitch, then in charge of international production at Sony Pictures, approached him about making local films for Japan.

"I asked him if he wanted to fill a production quota with three films or revolutionize Japanese movies," Matsuhashi recalled. Panitch chose revolution. Matsuhashi brought him a three-film "Kingdom" package pitched as a single business venture. "I doubt there are many projects created with this kind of specific plan in mind," he said. Panitch signed on, and each of the first three films earned more than JPY5 billion ($31.7 million) at the Japanese box office.

For more than two decades, Matsuhashi has also negotiated a success fee on all his projects. "It was something that hadn't really been mainstream in Japan," he said. "I've continued using this model for a long time – where the producer, the person actually creating the work, receives a success fee if it becomes a hit – and it's gradually become established."

What does a global adaptation cost?

Maeda, executive producer of Netflix's live-action "One Piece," closed the panel with a lesson in managing risk on a beloved property. The series topped the charts in 46 countries in its opening week in 2023 and logged more than 140 million viewing hours over those first seven days.

When Tomorrow Studios first approached him, Maeda knew nothing about the manga. He "read the first hundred chapters… and I just loved it." He also wondered how anyone could afford the series, "since it was going to be so expensive."

Netflix, once involved, "wanted us to make it as cheaply as possible," Maeda remembered. He pushed back, arguing that fans would not accept a cut-rate version. "They didn't want us to make a bad version of one of their favorite anime or manga," he said. "So we had to go in there and really convince (Netflix) that by making a show fans would appreciate, they also would attract a new audience."

"That's the battle of a lot of global IP," he added. "You're going to have people who love the show, and they want a faithful adaptation of that show. You're going to have people who have never heard of the show, and you still need to bring those people in as well."

Maeda's earlier credits include "Lost," "The X-Files" and "Lie to Me." He is now adapting "Monstress," the Eisner-winning graphic novel, for Amazon Prime Video with his partner Tiff Greshler and Hivemind Entertainment.

His verdict on the stakes was blunt. "And if you succeed, you can have an international success," Maeda said. "And if you fail, everyone hates you." With Amazon now committing double the capital, Japanese IP will face that test on an even larger stage.