Toho Co. established a joint venture with figure manufacturer Good Smile Company to develop merchandise based on the studio’s intellectual property, addressing a long-acknowledged weakness in its growth strategy.
The new company, To-Smile Co., Ltd., will produce toys, figures, and collectibles featuring characters from TOHO Animation titles and the Godzilla franchise. Toho holds 60% of the venture capitalized at ¥500 million ($3.2 million), with Good Smile owning the remainder.
The deal reflects Toho’s struggle to monetize its content beyond theatrical and streaming distribution. While the studio has invested heavily in anime production—acquiring GKIDS, Anime Limited, and Science SARU—it has lacked internal capability in merchandise development. Good Smile brings manufacturing expertise and the popular Nendoroid line of collectible figures.
Toho installed its own executive, Hidehiko Hotta from the company’s Godzilla and licensing divisions, as To-Smile’s president. The venture will be headquartered alongside Toho in Tokyo’s Chiyoda ward.
The arrangement targets TOHO Cinemas locations domestically and markets in North America and Asia. However, Good Smile faced disruptions this year when U.S. tariffs temporarily halted shipments—a potential complication for ambitious overseas expansion plans.
Toho’s mid-term plan calls for doubling operating profit in its IP and anime segment by 2028, requiring stronger licensing and retail revenue streams beyond box office returns.
