The two firms have already worked together to release films in the U.S., with GKids handling last year’s Oscar-winning Studio Ghibli feature "The Boy and the Heron." Financial terms were not disclosed.

In suitably astonishing news, TOHO will be acquiring the renowned Western anime distributor GKIDS as a subsidiary.

Japanese distributor Toho has acquired the animation distributor GKIDS to help its expansion into distribution in North America.