GKIDS Brings the Studio Ghibli Library to the UK and Ireland, Starting With Kiki's Delivery Service in IMAX

What GKIDS announced

GKIDS says it will bring the Studio Ghibli library to the United Kingdom and Ireland, opening the slate with a 4K remaster of Kiki's Delivery Service in IMAX theatres. In a July 2 post, the distributor confirmed the film will screen in IMAX from August 21, with what it described as additional IMAX releases to follow. No further titles or dates were named in the announcement, so the rest of the lineup remains unconfirmed for now.

The move gives GKIDS a direct theatrical foothold for Ghibli in two markets where the studio's recent big-screen revivals had been handled by other partners. It also extends a restoration effort that has already been rolling out elsewhere, now reaching British and Irish audiences for the first time under the GKIDS banner.

Kiki's Delivery Service in 4K

Released in 1989 and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, Kiki's Delivery Service follows a young witch who, during her mandatory year of living independently, struggles to fit into a new community while supporting herself by running an air courier service. It remains one of Studio Ghibli's most beloved coming-of-age features, and this run is a chance to see it newly restored on the largest screens available.

The 4K version is not new to the GKIDS and IMAX partnership. According to Empire, the restoration first played exclusively in IMAX theatres across the United States and Canada beginning March 13, 2026, the first time the film had ever screened in the format. The August 21 date is the UK and Ireland's turn.

Part of a wider Ghibli IMAX push

Kiki's arrival caps a busy year for the GKIDS and IMAX collaboration. Variety reported that the two companies lined up fresh 4K restorations of several Ghibli classics for exclusive IMAX runs, with the films remastered under the oversight of Studio Ghibli's Atsushi Okui. Those releases had been positioned for North America, which makes the UK and Ireland expansion the notable new development here.

For viewers in Britain and Ireland, the announcement answers a question that had lingered since the North American dates were set. Earlier coverage noted that previous Ghibli theatrical revivals in the region had reached audiences through other distributors, with no confirmed local date for Kiki's at the time. GKIDS has now put one on the calendar, and signalled that more of the catalogue will follow in the same premium format.