Adult Animation Could Help Lure Audiences Back to Cinemas, Experts Say

variety.com:

Lise Pedersen An A-list panel was invited to discuss the question of animated film for adults in a conversation entitled “What Is Adult Animation Film’s Strategy and Where Is It Headed?” at the Cannes Film Market’s fourth edition of Animation Day on Sunday.Panelists included Dutch-born French filmmaker Jan Kounen (“Doberman,” “Blueberry,” “My Cousin”), who also presented his latest project “Epiphania” in the morning’s pitching sessions, alongside Sun Creature (“Flee”) co-founder and producer Charlotte de La Gournerie, Bruno Felix, founder and co-CEO of Amsterdam-based Submarine (“They Shot the Piano Player,” “Where Is Anne Frank?”), and Amel Lacombe, CEO and founder of Paris-based indie distributor Eurozoom.

Asked whether the perception of adult animation is evolving, Lacombe, who heads Europe’s leading theatrical distributor of Japanese animation, alluded to the genre’s exponential growth over the past two years, saying: “Change will come with big money and big business.

Audiences are ready to go to theaters to see animation for adults. A few months ago, I released a remastered version of “Akira” in cinemas and it was a huge success.

Everyone said ‘It won’t work because they can find it everywhere on DVD and Blu-ray.’ But people want to see it on the big screen, share the emotion, and enjoy it as the spectacle that it was intended to be.”According to Felix, a growing number of people are interested in telling stories that bring together different realities and perspectives, and adult animation is a perfect way to do this. “The type of story we want to see right now is better told in animation.