Amazon is betting big on Japanese anime and Asian content as a cornerstone of Prime Video‘s global expansion strategy.
With Japan emerging as one of its largest markets outside of the U.S., Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, and Kelly Day, VP of international for Prime Video, outlined their ambitious vision for the streaming service in the region in an exclusive interview with Variety. “We’re very committed to a strong pipeline for customers in Japan. We have a huge opportunity,” Salke said.
Japan represents one of Prime Video’s most valuable territories, offering a large marketplace business with 72 add-on subscriptions and nearly 300,000 titles available for transactional video on demand (TVOD). Salke said that Prime Video is “committed to a growing slate,” especially when it comes to licensing original anime. “One of the most exciting things we’re doing here in Japan is talking about our plans for ramping up those that content strategy for the next several years,” she added.
The streaming service has already established itself as a market leader in Japan, with Day noting that the country has “one of the largest install bases for Prime members,” making it “one of our largest markets outside the U.S.”
When asked about maintaining a competitive edge in Japan, Salke confirmed that anime is a priority. “We have a big commitment to an anime slate that we’re pulling together, and the teams are all working on it,” she said. “There’s a lot of exciting stuff in the works that we’re looking forward to sharing, and that’s an ongoing commitment.”
Looking at the next phase for Japanese and Asian content, Salke was bullish about projects like “The Silent Service,” based on a popular Kodansha manga, which had a theatrical release in partnership with Toho before premiering on the streaming platform; and “Oshi-no-ko,” a live-action adaptation of a Shueisha manga.
Day highlighted the growing international appeal of content from Asia: “We see more global opportunity for some of the different titles coming out of Asia, in particular anime and the K-dramas, which we’ve started sourcing more of both, and are starting to distribute those more around the world.”
Salke added, “We’re seeing local across the board expanding globally, with big hit shows for women and YA audiences out of Germany, with ‘Maxton Hall’ and the ‘Culpa’ series and then the K-dramas. And we expect a lot more coming from Japan and India that we think will deliver as well.”
On what helps content travel internationally, Day pointed to two critical factors: “One is big IP — it could be popular manga or popular anime being developed and distributed around the world. The second thing is how much they generate social buzz.”
“Marry My Husband,” a Korean drama, exemplifies this trend. According to Day, it “traveled really well through social media, appealed to young women who are very active on social media and got a lot of social conversation going around the world, which then drove a lot of new customers to the platform.”
Regarding theatrical distribution strategy, Salke confirmed that Amazon remains “very committed to theatrical” and has a large upcoming slate. “We have noticed that with big film releases like ‘Red One’ and ‘Air’ and others that the theatrical release just enhanced the the impact of those titles on Prime Video, making some of them the biggest titles that we’ve ever had,” Salke said.
Several MGM titles, including “Air,” “Saltburn,” “Challengers” and “Red One” were distributed internationally by Warner Bros., but Salke said the company will soon have its own international distribution arm. “We’re staffing that up now,” she said. “With MGM coming aboard and the teams being united behind the strategy of theatrical, to eventually to Prime Video customers in home — we think we’re off to a really pretty incredible start,” Salke said.
As for mobile-only subscriptions to Prime Video, which have been successful in markets like India, Day indicated that while not currently available in Japan, such localized pricing models are being considered on a country-by-country basis, with plans already implemented in Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia.
On the topic of AI and new technology, Salke was enthusiastic about its potential. “As a company overall, we’re leaning heavily into AI. We’re very excited about the technology and what it can do for our business and in all of our lives, but for the studio specifically, we see it as a absolute tool to put in the hands of creative people and creators to be able to enhance storytelling,” she explained.
Salke noted that AI is already being embraced by creators: “I just had a major pitch come in with someone who presented a visual deck that was pre-vis, that was created by AI.” She said that the focus is on “putting it in the hands of human artists and creators,” while also exploring efficiency improvements in production, special effects, and automating manual processes.
And of course, the name on everyone’s lips recently in regards to the company has been James Bond, the iconic property that Amazon MGM Studios gained creative control of last month. Salke remained tight-lipped about specific plans for the franchise, but confirmed they are “going through a process in the U.S. around the deal for final approvals.”
“We’re very excited about it,” she said. “It’s been a bit of time coming, and we can’t wait to jump into to the world of Bond.”
