New Animation commissions fall as focus shifts away from kids' content

First-run Animation commissions hit a new low in the last quarter of 2022, falling to 87 titles, down from 121 in the first quarter of 2021. This decrease was driven by a decline in the volume of Children & Family titles announced, according to Ampere Analysis’ latest report.

In the third quarter of 2022, the volume of adult-oriented Animation content (including Anime, whose global popularity continues to rise) overtook Children’s titles for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2021, with this trend looking set to continue in 2023. The first quarter of 2023 saw twice as many adult-oriented Animations announced (59 titles) as Children & Family (28).

Sci-Fi & Fantasy was the most commissioned genre within adult-oriented Animations in the first quarter of 2023, making up 38% of all first-run Animation commissions. Most of these were Japanese Anime, which represent over 60% of all Sci-Fi Animation commissions between the first quarter of 2021 and the second one of 2023.

During this period, most new Children & Family Animation titles have been English-language. Therefore, a shift away from kids’ content has had a knock-on effect, decreasing the share of new English-language Animation commissions by 19%.

However, although Animation commissions show an overall decline, commissioners are still committed to existing popular titles. With a constantly refreshing viewership, most Animation renewals announced between Q2 2021 and Q1 2023 were Children & Family, such as Disney’s “I Am Groot” and Netflix’s “Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight.” However, there were also notable renewals of popular adult-oriented Animation titles including “South Park,” “Rick & Morty” and “Family Guy,” as well as Netflix’s science-fiction “Arcane.”

“After the boom of first-run Animation commissions caused by the pandemic – when live-action production was challenging – commissioners who had previously not invested in Animation now appear to be returning to live-action productions. This can be seen most clearly in the fall of Children & Family Animation commissions. However, with an established – and growing – fan base for adult-oriented Animation, commissioners in Japan in particular, continue making new investments in the genre,”  said Mariana Enriquez Denton Bustinza, Senior Researcher at Ampere Analysis and the author of the report.