Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that specialises in the distribution of Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand.
According to current market research, Madman accounts for 97% of the total anime DVD market in Australia. During the past 10 years, Madman has secured the local release rights to a number of very popular titles including Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Akira, and almost all of Studio Ghibli's catalogue. In addition to DVD sales, Madman also manages the theatrical release of some of their titles, particularly the Studio Ghibli movies.
Some of their DVD releases have been jointly mastered with Britain's MVM Films or Revelation films to save costs, and are therefore dual-region (Region 2 and Region 4). A few DVD titles from Madman, such as the Oh My Goddess! OVAs, are all-region or multi-region DVDs in the NTSC format, imported from the US and repackaged for sale in Australia and New Zealand (which normally use PAL colour).
A growing selection of manga titles translated by TOKYOPOP in the United States and Chuang Yi in Singapore are being imported and distributed through Madman Entertainment. In February 2008, Madman announced that they would also be distributing manga titles from Viz Media.
Madman launched in 1996 solely as an anime distribution company, but has since expanded exponentially. They manage the distribution of live-action titles through their labels Madman Films, Directors Suite, Madman Sports, Madman Laughs, Madman Television, Bollywood Masala and Eastern Eye and also children's entertainment through their Planet Mad and Mad4Kids labels. Madman also has a theatrical distribution arm called Madman Cinema. In addition, Madman distributes original series produced by Australia's Special Broadcasting Service on DVD.
In 2007, Madman began a licensing agreement to release original Cartoon Network and Adult Swim series on DVD in Australia and New Zealand. Madman also programmed Adult Swim's anime block in the two countries until Cartoon Network Australia dropped its entire Adult Swim lineup on January 1, 2008 .
The company is owned by the ASX listed Funtastic Limited. It employs 130 people and has an annual turnover of around $AU50 million.