June 13, 2023 -  Europe-based distribution company Piece of Magic Entertainment (POM) has launched a new subsidiary entitled POM Anime, and has acquired the rights to Japanese global phenomenon “The First Slam Dunk” in 35 territories, with plans to release theatrically this summer across Scandinavia, Poland, Baltics, Greece and the Central European region, under the new POM Anime banner. Further anime titles are to be announced in the coming weeks.

POM Anime builds upon Piece of Magic’s on-going strategy to distribute a robust slate of compelling, multi-genre cinematic experiences, across films, documentaries, music, and live gaming events. 

In recent years, POM have distributed some of the biggest anime titles including “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train”, “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” and “One-Piece Film: Red” and are excited to launch this new specialist arm, to bring anime at scale to a larger global audience.

“The First Slam Dunk” will be the first release for POM Anime and has already proved to be a huge box-office success, grossing over $260 million worldwide in Asian markets to date, making it the fifth highest-grossing anime film of all time. The film is based on the Takehiko Inoue Slam Dunk manga series and is written and directed by Inoue and produced by Toei Animation.

“The First Slam Dunk” will screen during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14th and 16th. POM Anime expects to release the film theatrically in the aforementioned territories in late Summer 2023.