Webtoon Entertainment to Co-Produce Webtoon-Based Animations with Warner Bros.

Aiming for Global Distribution of 10 Titles Including The Swordmaster's Star and Level Up Warrior
Third Quarter Results Announced... Operating Loss Widens Year-on-Year

Webtoon Entertainment, the US headquarters of Naver Webtoon, is partnering with Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) to produce animations based on webtoon originals.

On November 12 (local time), Webtoon Entertainment announced that it had signed a strategic partnership with Warner Bros. Animation. Warner Bros. Animation is a studio within the Warner Bros. Discovery Group that produces and distributes animations.

Webtoon Entertainment, the US headquarters of Naver Webtoon, is partnering with Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) to produce animations based on webtoon originals. Photo by Naver Webtoon

The two companies have agreed to co-produce ten webtoon-based animations with the goal of global distribution. The selected webtoons will be chosen from those serialized on Naver Webtoon's Korean and English platforms. Webtoon Production, which oversees Webtoon Entertainment's global intellectual property (IP) business, and the Japan IP business team will jointly support the project.

The works selected for production include two Korean original webtoons, "The Swordmaster's Star" and "Level Up Warrior," and two English original webtoons, "Down to Earth" and "Elf & Warrior." Webtoon Entertainment plans to announce additional titles in the future.

Kim Yongsoo, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and Head of Global Webtoon Business at Naver Webtoon, said, "We are very excited to have the opportunity to work on a fantastic webtoon-based project with Warner Bros. Animation, one of the most respected companies in the animation industry."

Sam Register, President of Warner Bros. Animation, said, "We expect that the combination of Warner Bros. Animation's world-class artistry and webtoon's dynamic storytelling will produce something truly special."

Meanwhile, Webtoon Entertainment announced on the same day that it recorded an operating loss of 14.88 million dollars (approximately 20.6 billion won, based on the average exchange rate of 1,385.14 won per dollar) in the third quarter of this year, according to provisional figures. The loss widened compared to the operating loss of 8.085 million dollars in the same period last year.

Revenue was 378.04 million dollars, an 8.7% increase from 347.90 million dollars in the same period last year, with IP business revenue rising significantly from 19.3 million dollars to 51.9 million dollars. Net loss was 11.05 million dollars, and adjusted EBITDA was recorded at 5.12 million dollars.

Kim Joongu, CEO of Webtoon Entertainment and Naver Webtoon, said, "This quarter, we continued to innovate the platform by providing new storytelling formats and viewing experiences, including our collaboration with Disney, and successfully introduced IP businesses that have attracted global attention. Based on the achievements and experience accumulated by webtoons over the past 20 years, we will continue to pursue sustained growth."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.