Navarre's FUNimation Entertainment Acquires Japanese Live Action Film 'Shinobi' From Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Navarre's FUNimation Entertainment Acquires Japanese Live Action Film 'Shinobi' From Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Dramatic Ninja Epic to Come to the United States

FORT WORTH, Texas, March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- FUNimation(R) Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVR), announced today that it has acquired rights to the live action film SHINOBI from Shochiku, Japan's leading entertainment conglomerate. FUNimation has acquired theatrical, DVD and broadcast rights to the SHINOBI film.

"This is a gorgeous live action film and we are excited to work with a company as well-known and respected as Shochiku," said Gen Fukunaga, president and CEO of FUNimation Entertainment. "This is such a great looking piece that we are researching much wider distribution efforts including broadcast and theatrical."

Masaki Koga, the Head of Shochiku's International Business Division, said, "We are very proud of 'Shinobi' and hope that its success in the U.S. mirrors its success in Japan. FUNimation is one of the premiere specialty distributors in North America and the ideal distributor for this film."

Set in 17th Century Japan, SHINOBI tells the story of two warring Ninja tribes, each with special fighting abilities and techniques. The tribes are forced to fight each other in order to keep their existence. The young leaders of each tribe are in love, but are inevitably torn apart in the conflict. SHINOBI is fast pacing ninja action meets Romeo and Juliet.

The SHINOBI storyline was adapted from the Kouga Ninja Scrolls, a best selling novel in Japan. The popularity of this novel also served as the inspiration for an anime series called Basilisk, which FUNimation has also acquired.

SHINOBI was released in Japan in September 2005 and became a critical and commercial success for the company, earning over 1,400,000,000 yen at the Japanese box office.

About Shochiku

Founded in 1895, Shochiku functions as a highly-tuned vertically integrated entertainment entity, encompassing feature film and television production, theatrical distribution of Japanese & foreign motion pictures, worldwide sales, exhibition, DVD and home video distribution and the Kabuki Theater.

Shochiku operates one of the most successful motion picture divisions in Japan. The company has produced a number of critically and financially successful films, including the 2004 Academy Award(R) nominee for best foreign language film "The Twilight Samurai," directed by Yoji Yamada, the first Japanese Academy Award nomination for a live-action film in 22 years. ( http://www.shochikufilms.com/ )

About Navarre Corporation

Navarre Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVR) is a publisher and distributor of a broad range of home entertainment and multimedia products, including PC software, CD audio, DVD and VHS video, video games and accessories. Since its founding in 1983, the company has established distribution relationships with customers across a wide spectrum of retail channels which includes mass merchants, discount, wholesale club, office and music superstores, military and e-tailers nationwide. The company currently provides its products to over 18,000 retail and distribution center locations throughout the United States and Canada. Navarre has recently expanded its business to include the licensing and publishing of home entertainment and multimedia content, primarily through the acquisitions of Encore Software, Inc., BCI Eclipse Company, LLC, FUNimation Productions, Ltd. and The FUNimation Store, Ltd. For more information, please visit the company's web site at http://www.navarre.com/ .

About FUNimation Entertainment

FUNimation(R) Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation (NASDAQ:NAVR), is a brand management company and one of the nation's leading independent home video entertainment companies. The company's most recent initiative is the FUNimation Channel(SM), a new, 24-hour digital network featuring programming from the top anime brands in the United States. FUNimation has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution. For images, or more information on FUNimation Entertainment, the FUNimation Channel, or any of FUNimation's properties, contact Jeff Dronen at 817-788-0627, ext. 251 or pr@funimation.com.

Source: FUNimation(R) Entertainment

CONTACT: Jeff Dronen of FUNimation(R) Entertainment, +1-817-788-0627,
ext. 251, or pr@funimation.com

Web site: http://www.funimation.com/
http://www.shochikufilms.com/
http://www.navarre.com/

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