The Akira £1m question: Is the cyberpunk classic purely for the purists?

Anime Limited has announced that Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s Akira has surpassed the £1 million mark at the UK and Ireland box office, cementing its status as the highest-grossing classic release of 2026. This milestone comes during a pivotal transition for the Glasgow-based distributor, which recently became a subsidiary of Toho Co. as part of a strategic pivot to expand Japanese IP directly across Europe.

While the financial data places the 1988 cyberpunk epic as the 5th highest-grossing film at the UK box office last week, the achievement highlights a growing friction between long-term devotees and a modern audience accustomed to different narrative structures. Despite the 4K IMAX restoration drawing massive crowds, the film’s reliance on “vibes” and technical spectacle over character intimacy remains a point of contention for newer fans.

The Human Divide

The marketing campaign, spearheaded by Anna Francis, Theatrical Product Manager at Anime Limited, successfully positioned the film as a “must-see” technical event. However, for those without a pre-existing emotional tether to Neo-Tokyo, the experience can feel hollow. Bronwen Winter Phoenix, Creative Director at Geek Native and a relatively recent convert to the medium, found the legendary status difficult to reconcile with the viewing experience.

The film didn’t give me a reason to feel any sort of connection to any of the characters, and therefore I didn’t really care about what happened to any of them. The story didn’t appeal, and I felt overall pretty disconnected to a film that had a lot of meaning to my husband who had established meaningful memories of it from his childhood. I just felt like I was missing something.”

I’ll certainly concede that the thrill of seeing an old favourite was a major reason why this blogger went to the local cinema to re-watch the anime.

This sentiment suggests that Akira’s current success may be driven more by the “spectacle” of the IMAX format and the “nostalgia tax” paid by existing fans returning for multiple viewings, rather than a genuine narrative conquest of the new generation.

However, team Geek Native are also aware of young “first-timers” who have become instant fans and have already picked up Akira statuettes as early pieces for their growing collection of anime merch.

The Toho-Glasgow Connection

The release marks Anime Limited’s first major victory since its strategic split from Plaion to join Toho Global. Led by CEO Andrew Partridge, the Glasgow team, including Robbie Duncan, who oversaw the technical theatrical delivery, is now the European bridgehead for Toho’s direct-to-market ambitions.

Anna Francis, from Anime Limited, said in a statement:

We’re absolutely thrilled to see Akira take over £1,000,000 at the UK & Ireland box office. In recent years we have seen a huge surge in interest for classic anime films in cinemas and Akira is one of the best known anime films of all time. The monumental influence of the film is clearer now than ever and the fact it still resonates with audiences today, 38 years after it was initially released in Japan, is a sign of how incredible it is as an enduring work of art.”

As Toho continues to consolidate its hold on the UK market, the success of Akira proves that the “classic” label remains a potent commercial tool, even if the cinematic language of 1988 struggles to translate emotionally for audiences in 2026.