Mamoru Hosoda's Hamlet-inspired anime film Scarlet begins streaming on Netflix India on May 17, roughly three months after its Indian theatrical debut.
Studio Chizu and director Mamoru Hosoda's anime film Scarlet will begin streaming on Netflix India on May 17, 2026. The film arrives on the platform approximately three months after it opened in Indian theaters on February 6.
Scarlet reimagines Shakespeare's Hamlet through an anime lens, following a medieval-era, sword-fighting princess on a perilous quest to avenge the death of her father. After sustaining grave injuries in a mysterious realm known as the Otherworld a space that exists between life and death she encounters a modern-day Japanese nurse who helps her heal and opens her eyes to a future beyond vengeance. When she eventually faces her father's killer again, she must decide whether she can break the cycle of hatred and find meaning in life beyond revenge.
Hosoda wrote the screenplay and created the original story, continuing his streak of emotionally ambitious projects after Belle and Mirai. The film stars Mana Ashida as Princess Scarlet, Masaki Okada as Hijiri (the modern-day nurse), Kōji Yakusho as the antagonist Claudius, and Masachika Ichimura as Scarlet's father, Amulet.
Scarlet premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2025 before screening at the Toronto International Film Festival that same month. It opened theatrically in Japan on November 21, 2025, where it debuted at number three at the domestic box office on its opening weekend. Sony Pictures handles worldwide distribution outside Japan, while TOHO managed the domestic release.
In India, the film opened on February 6, 2026, with screenings available in IMAX, 2D Screen X, and 4DX formats. The roughly three-month window between the theatrical debut and the Netflix India streaming date is a standard holdback period for major animated releases.
The Netflix India listing makes the film accessible to a significantly wider audience than the limited theatrical run. Hosoda's distinctive animation style neither traditional 2D nor Hollywood CG gives Scarlet a visual identity that sets it apart from other anime features currently on the platform. For Indian viewers who missed it in cinemas, the May 17 streaming date offers a convenient way to catch one of the most talked-about anime films of the past year.
Scarlet joins a growing slate of high-profile anime films landing on Netflix India, reinforcing the platform's push to serve the country's expanding anime fanbase. With its blend of Western literary heritage and Japanese animation craft, the film stands as another strong entry in Hosoda's filmography alongside Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, and Belle.
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