When you think of FUNimation, you can think of several popular Anime that have made it in America. Among them of course, is the Dragon Ball franchise. Being the biggest licensor and distributor of Anime in the U.S. has caught the attention of Hollywood.
Bloomberg has reported that Sony and Universal are interested in purchasing FUNimation, eyeing the latter's success in home video and streaming releases. Indeed, box sets of the US dubbed Dragon Ball Z series is priced higher than box sets of popular live-action shows. And thanks to the loyal fan base of Anime fans, people are willing to pay top dollar for the DBZ box set - something hardly seen anywhere else.
Sony, for their part, already has its subsidiary Aniplex distribute Anime locally, though mostly in Asian markets. I would think having Sony buy FUNimation would mean we could see more Anime from Aniplex getting a Western release.
Universal of course is part of media conglomerate NBCUniversal, which has a large number of film and TV entities under their belt among others, including Universal Studios and Dreamworks, and TV/Cable networks like NBC. If Universal gets to buy FUNimation, there's a chance the upcoming Dragon Ball Z attraction in Universal Studios Japan may be made available in Hollywood or Orlando.
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