Bandai Namco Filmworks business profile: ownership, profit, and strategy
Bandai Namco Filmworks owns the Gundam library and produces for the group, but its disclosed profit is smaller than the group-level anime business.
Published: 2026-08-19. Updated: 2026-08-19.
Short answer: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc. is the core animation and visual content company of the Bandai Namco Group, formed in April 2022 from Sunrise, Bandai Namco Arts' video business, and Bandai Namco Rights Marketing. It is wholly owned by Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. For the fiscal year ended March 2026, Bandai Namco Filmworks reported net profit of JPY 3.319 billion, down 43.8% from JPY 5.906 billion in the previous fiscal year. The company had 770 employees as of April 1, 2026 and capital of JPY 300 million.
What Bandai Namco Filmworks is and who owns it
Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc. is a Japanese animation and visual content company headquartered in Suginami, Tokyo. It was established in April 2022 as the renamed and restructured Sunrise, absorbing Bandai Namco Arts' video business and Bandai Namco Rights Marketing. Its corporate predecessor, Sunrise, dates back to November 1976.
The company is 100% owned by Bandai Namco Holdings Inc., the listed parent of the Bandai Namco Group. Its chairman and CEO is Makoto Asanuma and its president and CEO is Satoshi Kono. As of April 1, 2026, it had 770 employees and capital of JPY 300 million.
How Bandai Namco Filmworks makes money
Bandai Namco Filmworks plans, produces, and sells animation and other visual content. It also manages copyrights and literary properties, develops and sells video-related merchandise, and plans and operates video-related services. Its best-known franchises include Gundam, Love Live!, Code Geass, and many others originally developed under the Sunrise name.
The studio's business model is different from a pure production-fee studio because it owns or co-owns major IP. Revenue flows from animation production, domestic and international licensing, music and live events, and merchandise planning. Those revenue streams are partly captured at the parent-group level through toys, games, and cards, but Filmworks itself captures rights and production value.
Where profit sits
For the fiscal year ended March 2026, Bandai Namco Filmworks reported net profit of JPY 3.319 billion, a 43.8% decline from JPY 5.906 billion in FY2025. The drop reflects the lumpy nature of film and series release schedules and the high fixed costs of maintaining a large in-house studio.
The parent group's Visual and Music business unit, which includes Filmworks and Bandai Namco Music Live, reported first-quarter FY2027 revenue of JPY 19.2 billion and segment profit of JPY 1.3 billion. That unit's revenue is not the same as Filmworks' standalone revenue, but it shows the scale of the business area in which Filmworks operates.
Bandai Namco Filmworks net profit from official-gazette filings as reported by Gamebiz.| Fiscal year | Net profit | Change |
|---|
| FY2025 ended March 2025 | JPY 5.906B | Prior year |
| FY2026 ended March 2026 | JPY 3.319B | Down 43.8% |
Subsidiaries and group position
Bandai Namco Filmworks heads the Visual and Music unit of the Bandai Namco Group. Its affiliates include Bandai Namco Music Live, Bandai Namco Pictures, Actas, and Eightbit, plus overseas operations such as Bandai Namco Filmworks America and Sunrise Shanghai.
The group structure matters because Bandai Namco Filmworks' IP is exploited across toys, plastic models, games, and trading cards by sister companies. A Gundam anime production, for example, may generate relatively modest profit at Filmworks while driving much larger revenue at Bandai Spirits, Bandai Namco Entertainment, and the card business.
Strategy and outlook
Bandai Namco Filmworks' strategy is tightly aligned with the Bandai Namco Group's IP-Axis Strategy. It exists to create and sustain the visual content that feeds the group's toy, game, music, and licensing businesses. The studio's 2026 releases included Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, which the parent group credited with driving a major year-over-year increase in Gundam IP sales.
The studio's challenge is to keep a large in-house workforce productive while managing the cyclicality of theatrical releases and franchise schedules. Its access to group capital and distribution reduces financial risk compared with independent studios, but its profit still moves with the timing and performance of its major titles.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Bandai Namco Filmworks?
Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. owns 100% of Bandai Namco Filmworks. The studio was formed in 2022 from Sunrise and related group video businesses.
What was Bandai Namco Filmworks' latest profit?
For the fiscal year ended March 2026, net profit was JPY 3.319 billion, down 43.8% from JPY 5.906 billion in FY2025.
Is Bandai Namco Filmworks the same as Sunrise?
It is the legal successor to Sunrise. Sunrise changed its name to Bandai Namco Filmworks in April 2022 and absorbed related group video businesses.
What are Bandai Namco Filmworks' main franchises?
Its best-known franchises include Gundam, Love Live!, Code Geass, and other long-running properties originally developed under the Sunrise name.