Despite Solo Leveling's global popularity, renowned anime studio A-1 Pictures ended its fiscal year in the red. According to the company's financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2025, which were published in the June 30th issue of Japan's Official Gazette (Kanpo), the studio posted a net loss of over $1.2 million USD (¥178 million) for the period spanning from April 2024 to March 2025.
The report may come as a surprise to many, especially considering the anime's breakout success and popularity across the globe. An adaptation of the popular South Korean web novel written by Chugong, the Solo Leveling anime first premiered in January 2024 and found huge success internationally. It streamed globally on Crunchyroll, where it quickly became one of the streaming service's most-watched titles worldwide.
A second season, titled Arise from the Shadow, premiered in January of this year and was once again simulcast on Crunchyroll as new episodes released weekly. The sophomore season was viewed as a leap forward for the anime with improved animation and cinematic fights, deeper lore and worldbuilding, and better pacing.
Now it's worth pointing out that Solo Leveling may not be the main cause for A-1 Pictures' financial issues. The Aniplex Inc. subsidiary was also involved in the production or release of several other major projects during this fiscal period, including Too Many Losing Heroines!, NieR:Automata Ver1.1a (second cour), Sword Art Online: Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Solo Leveling Season 2 - Arise from the Shadow, and Goddess of Victory: NIKKE – OLD TALES Special Animation (Full Version). It's possible that A-1's losses may have been even greater without the success of Solo Leveling.
The bleak report, which marks a sharp reversal from the $168,000 (¥24 million) profit in the previous year, has cast some doubt on future A-1 projects, although I can't imagine a future in which the studio doesn't continue producing Solo Leveling.
It's possible that the production committee for Solo Leveling may have resulted in lower profits than what the anime's popularity may suggest. If that's the case, it could explain why Solo Leveling Season 3 has yet to be announced.
Back in May, Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini hinted that A-1 Pictures wanted to work on other projects before returning to Solo Leveling. Meanwhile, Atsushi Kaneko, Animation Producer at A-1 Pictures, and Sota Furuhashi, Producer at Aniplex, were asked during a Reddit AMA about the potential for a third season, to which they replied that it will take "all the support and energy from fans" to get production going on Season 3. Perhaps that was them quietly acknowledging that the series wasn't as profitable for the studio as many had believed based on its popularity.
Adding to the theory that Solo Leveling may not have been so profitable is the fact that the two producers revealed just how much work went into the first two seasons. During a media Q&A event, Furuhashi explained that Season 1 and Season 2 consisted of 220,000 frames of animation, which is an incredible amount of work for the animators. It's believed that Solo Leveling Season 3 may not premiere until sometime between 2026 and 2028.