Umamusume: Pretty Derby movie marked for US theatrical release
- Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Beginning of a New Era will appear in US cinemas on February 27th, 2026.
- The film released in 2024 in Japan, and is expanding westward following the mobile game's global release in 2025.
Cygames’ horse girl racing game Umamusume: Pretty Derby is getting a theatrical movie release in the West, debuting in US cinemas on February 27th, 2026.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Beginning of a New Era marks the franchise’s first feature-length film and its first theatrical release in North America, as the brand’s transmedia expansion continues beyond the anime series, manga and games.
The production has been made by Cygames and CygamesPictures, and was previously screened at Anime Expo 2025 in Los Angeles and Anime NYC 2025 in New York. Its upcoming theatrical release is said to follow the anime’s "critical success".
Naturally, it also follows the mobile game’s overseas expansion from Japan to the West in 2025. It’s a game with more than $2.5 billion in estimated player spending to its name.
Japanese talent - now for a Western audience
Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Beginning of a New Era will follow protagonist Jungle Pocket’s mission to win the Triple Crown series - three races full of formidable opponents. Other characters set to appear include Agnes Tachyon, Manhattan Cafe, and Dantsu Flame.
The movie has been directed by Ken Yamamoto with Tetsuya Kobari serving as scenario director. Kiyoko Yoshimura wrote the script, Jun Yamazaki was lead animation director, and Yusuke Watanabe worked as art director.
Japanese composer Masaru Yokoyama has also been involved, known for his contributions to anime over the past two decades - including Your Lie in April and Monster Hunter Stories: Ride On.
Yota Tsuruoka and Tetsuya Uchida have worked on Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Beginning of a New Era as music director and music producer respectively.
The film originally released in Japan in 2024.
The transmedia boom will be an important talking point at Pocket Gamer Connects London, taking place next week with its own dedicated Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit.
Speakers from across the industry will bring a range of perspectives to the event, some intrigued by live events, others by interoperable worlds, and some even expecting games to be used in AI training and robotics.
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