Danica Davidson
January 10, 2025 
The Association of Japanese Animations (a.k.a. AJA) had some interesting findings for its Anime Industry Report 2024. The report looks at global sales numbers in 2023.
During that year, the anime business brought in 3.3465 trillion yen, which is approximately $21.27 billion. AJA started keeping track of the anime business’s earnings since 2002, and this is by far the biggest number they’ve ever recorded.
51.5% of purchases were made by people outside of Japan. Only once before — during the COVID days of 2020 — did anime do better outside of Japan than inside its home country.
Almost three quarters — 72% — of earnings in 2023 came from North America and Asia. 41% of anime’s streaming income came from North American viewers.
Parrot Analytics also looked into which streaming services are having the most success with anime. The winner — by far — is Netflix, which brought in $2.0739 billion for its anime alone. Less than four percent of Netflix’s offering is anime, and it brings in 6.8% of Netflix’s earnings. So it looks like Netflix’s interest in anime is paying off!
Second place went to Crunchyroll, a streaming service dedicated exclusively to anime, which nabbed $1.161 billion during the same year. Here’s how the rest of the streaming services did: Hulu made $903.03 million, Amazon Prime Video collected $515.1 million, iQIYI brought in $217.7 million, bilibili earned $153.9 million, Tencent Video raked in $137.3 million, Disney+ garnered $130.9 million, and MAX received $74.1 million.
The Parrot Analytics report quoted Douglas Montgomery, who used to be the Chairman of the Japan America Society of Southern California, explaining, “Anime is a major driver of ancillary businesses such as consumer products, gaming, and live events, creating ripple effects across the global economy. By tapping into these interconnected industries, the anime sector can unlock immense economic potential and foster innovation that extends far beyond traditional media.”
What do you think about these results?
Source: ANN
Image Credit: Parrot Analytics
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
