TL;DR, Jefferies forecasted the global anime market could grow from about $31 billion in 2023 to $60.1 billion by 2030. The note has renewed attention on Sony and Crunchyroll, while also highlighting real structural problems that worry long-time fans.
1 billion by 2030. The call is shaping investor coverage around Sony and Crunchyroll, and it raises real questions for fans and creators.
Jefferies’ note is credible, recent data is hot, and the growth plan leans on more than streaming.
Expect gains, and growing pains, as money and influence concentrate.
What the $60.1 billion forecast actually says about the anime industry
Jefferies issued a research note in October 2024 projecting the global anime market will rise from about 31.2 billion dollars in 2023 to 60.1 billion by 2030. That Jefferies anime market forecast has anchored coverage in the Wall Street Journal and the Hollywood Reporter tied to Sony’s May 8 earnings.
A different yardstick complicates the headline. The Association of Japanese Animations places anime market size 2024 near 25 billion dollars, up 14.8% year on year. Jefferies uses a broader lens, adding global retail, theme parks, and secondary sales, so its 2023 baseline reads higher than production and broadcast tallies often cited in a global anime market forecast.
- Scope: Jefferies counts consumer retail, theme parks, and secondary markets, not just production and broadcasting.
- Baseline: 2023 comes in at about 31.2 billion dollars under Jefferies’ methodology.
- Size in 2024: AJA reports a 25 billion dollar total, up 14.8% year over year.
- Target: 60.1 billion dollars by 2030, per Jefferies’ model.
- Growth math: Reaching 60.1 requires about 10% compound annual growth for seven years.
- Recent pace: AJA recorded 14.8% growth in 2024 and 14.3% the prior year.
- Attribution: Forecast by Jefferies, historicals by AJA, and echoed in recent earnings coverage.
From these inputs, the math looks reasonable. Doubling by 2030 requires slower growth than the last two years delivered, based on AJA. That context makes the anime industry $60 billion forecast look attainable rather than speculative.
Why Crunchyroll and Sony keep coming up when people talk about the $60B figure
Sony owns Crunchyroll, so investors treat Sony Crunchyroll earnings as a proxy for global demand. Sony’s latest report confirmed Crunchyroll passed 21 million paid subscribers, up from 17 million in May 2025, nearly 25% growth. Many streamers are flat or shrinking, which spotlights Crunchyroll’s role in anime industry growth.
Scale and reach drive the focus. Rahul Purini told the Wall Street Journal that Japan produces about 300 new series each year, and Crunchyroll licenses roughly 80% across about 200 markets. Prices start near 98 rupees in India and 9.99 real in Brazil, with Brazil’s Gen Z and Alpha reportedly watching anime several times a week.
- Distribution muscle: The Crunchyroll global anime business claims rights to a large share of new series, across nearly 200 territories.
- Growth engines: India and Brazil add volume at low entry prices, with room to move up the pricing curve.
- Anti-piracy effect: Legal, affordable access converts fans into subscribers and spenders over time.
- Monetization stack: Events, theatrical, merchandise, and Crunchyroll music video releases deepen engagement and revenue.
- Agenda-setting: Corporate heft shapes licensing cycles, marketing beats, and where capital flows next.
Crunchyroll also announced an invite-only industry summit, the Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum, for October 7 at New York’s Javits Center, timed with New York Comic Con. The theme is “Designing for Anime’s Future,” spanning fandom, technology, storytelling, and IP protection. That influence helps explain why Sony and Crunchyroll dominate discussion of the anime industry $60 billion forecast.
What the forecast means for fans, creators, and the anime industry’s problems
2 billion. Hitting that goal needs about 10% compound annual growth over seven years. 3% the year before.
Those figures are counted differently, yet both point to brisk anime industry growth. On recent form, the pace already runs ahead of what the anime market 2030 target requires, which makes the forecast look plausible rather than bold.
Sony sits at the center of this story because Crunchyroll is its global anime vertical, and major outlets like The Wall Street Journal and The Hollywood Reporter cited the forecast while covering Sony’s May 8 earnings. Crunchyroll has crossed 21 million paid subscribers, up from 17 million in May 2025. Japan produces about 300 series each year, and Crunchyroll says it secures rights to roughly 80% of them across about 200 markets.
99 real in Brazil, to legitimize fandom where premium anime-first streaming barely existed. That strategy undercuts the old piracy argument by offering an affordable, legal option. Crucially, the bet is that as incomes rise, these fans move up the pricing curve over five to six years and spend more on merchandise, events, and theatrical releases.
The industry cannot reach $60 billion through streaming alone, so this broader consumer journey matters.
Longtime fans worry that as big finance notices all the zeroes, fandom will change and slide toward enshittification. The piece is clear that structural problems are real and urgent, even as access improves outside Japan. What to watch next: Sony’s Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum on October 7 at the Javits Center, timed with New York Comic Con, will gather industry players to discuss fandom, technology, storytelling, and IP protection.
Its aim, as framed by Crunchyroll’s leadership, is to put anime front and center outside Japan. Also track the next Association of Japanese Animations report, subscriber momentum in India and Brazil, and whether average spend rises. If the 10% trajectory holds, the anime industry $60 billion forecast has a practical path, even as debates over culture and commerce intensify.
Related: Crunchyroll manga additions.
Source: ANN