Netflix to stream Studio Ghibli catalogue in Canada
Earlier today, Netflix announced that it will begin streaming the Studio Ghibli catalogue of feature films in Canada later this week. The move comes months after the service began distributing the movies in all countries outside of Canada, Japan and the United States.
The following are scheduled to go live on June 25th:
- Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
- Castle in the Sky (1986)
- My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
- Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
- Only Yesterday (1991)
- Porco Rosso (1992)
- Ocean Waves (1993)
- Pom Poko (1994)
- Whisper of the Heart (1995)
- Princess Mononoke (1997)
- My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
- Spirited Away (2001)
- The Cat Returns (2002)
- Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
- Tales of Earthsea (2006)
- Ponyo (2008)
- The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)
- From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
- The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2014)
- When Marnie Was There (2014)
2013’s The Wind Rises will be added on August 1st.
The delayed Canadian launch was the result of rights issues. Netflix’s international deal for the Ghibli catalogue was with France’s The Wild Bunch, who represents the library outside of Canada, Japan and the United States. GKIDS distributes the Ghibli catalogue in Canada and the United States. Prior to Netflix’s deal, the company had sold the U.S. streaming rights to Warner Media’s HBO Max. This initially left Canada out of the picture, as HBO Max isn’t available in Canada and likely won’t be anytime soon. Netflix independently acquired the Canadian rights from GKIDS.
While the Studio Ghibli catalogue isn’t hard to get a hold of in Canada, especially in recent years, this will undoubtedly be its largest mainstream exposure in the country.
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