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Netflix (NFLX) Resurrects Onimusha with Epic Anime Revival

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Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) is bringing back the iconic Onimusha with an anime adaptation. Based on Capcom's renowned video game, the new series will premiere globally on Nov 2.

Takashi Miike, known for his groundbreaking swordplay in 13 Assassins and Blade of the Immortal, leads as supervising director, while director Shinya Sugai and animation studio Sublimation aim to bring a unique perspective to Onimusha, aiming to revolutionize anime.

The anime focuses on Miyamoto Musashi, inspired by Japanese legend Toshiro Mifune, during the peaceful Edo Period. An older Musashi embarks on a secret mission with the powerful "Oni Gauntlet," confronting hidden demons, and the emotional theme song THE LONELIEST by Maneskin enhances the story's depth.

Onimusha's fusion of cutting-edge 3D CGI character animations and exquisitely hand-drawn backgrounds stands out. This blending of traditional and modern animation techniques offers a fresh and immersive experience for both long-time fans and newcomers.

Expanding Portfolio & Partner Base Aids Growth

Netflix shares have returned 30.6% compared with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector’s increase of 7.2% year to date. The outperformance can be attributed to an expanding subscriber base and robust content offerings.
 

 

It also outperformed Disney (DIS - Free Report) but underperformed Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) and Apple (AAPL - Free Report) .

Shares of Apple and Amazon have returned 35.1% and 61.1%, respectively, on a year-to-date basis. Disney’s shares have declined 2.8%.

Netflix, which currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), is expected to benefit from its diversified content portfolio, attributable to heavy investments in the production and distribution of localized, foreign-language content. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It also benefits from an expanding portfolio that is helping Netflix keep subscribers engaged. On Aug 29, Netflix announced the launch of four new games - SNK Corporation’s Samurai Shodown, LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed by Gameloft, WrestleQuest by Mega Cat Studios, and Cut the Rope Daily by Zeptolab.

Netflix now expects revenue growth to accelerate in the second half of 2023, driven by the launch of the paid sharing initiative and an expanding content offering. However, it anticipates foreign-exchange neutral average revenues per membership to be flat to slightly down year over year due to limited price increases over the past 12 months and immaterial revenues from advertising and paid-sharing.

For the third quarter of 2023, Netflix now forecasts earnings of $3.52 per share, indicating an almost 10% increase from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. Total revenues are anticipated to be $8.52 billion, suggesting growth of 7% year over year and on a forex-neutral basis.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Netflix's third-quarter revenue is pegged at $8.53 billion, indicating 7.59 year-over-year growth. The consensus mark for earnings increased by a penny over the past 30 days to $3.49 per share.

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