Crunchyroll has proven once again that anime fans will pay to see their favorites in theaters as Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero became the most popular title at the box office this past weekend (ending Aug. 21). According to the distributor, the feature has brought in over $20.1M at the domestic box office in its opening weekend from 3,230 locations. The new Dragon Ball performed strongly against Universal’s Idris Elba man-against-lion thriller Beast, which made over 11.7 million in its first three days in 3,743 theaters.
Breakout figures for the movie are as follows: Thursday, August 18: $4,303,671; Friday, August 19: $6,584,653 ; Saturday, August 20: $5,768,686; Sunday, August 21: $3,450,000 (estimate); Total Opening Weekend: $20.100,000 (estimate)
The film, in its opening weekend alone, will be ranked as the #6 anime film in U.S. box office history.
“We’re absolutely thrilled that Dragon Ball fans could come together to experience and enjoy this amazing film in theaters,” said Mitchel Berger, Crunchyroll’s senior VP of global commerce. “Crunchyroll thanks all of the fans, whether or not you are a ‘super’ fan or a newcomer, and we hope they come back again and again.” He also gave credit to the great word-of-mouth among fans and the popularity of the franchise in social media.
Directed by Tetsuro Kodama, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, , was one of the year’s most eagerly awaited animated projects. Akira Toriyama’s landmark blend of male bonding, martial arts training, slapstick comedy and all-out slugfests is even more popular now than it was when the broadcast series debuted in 1986. Originally scheduled for an April release, Super Hero premiered in Japan on June 11 following delays due to a ransomware attack on the studio in March, and is now rolling out internationally through Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures.
Producer Norihiro Hayashida discussed the making of the latest Dragonball movie in a recent interview with our own Charles Solomon. You can read it here.
The other two animated features in the top 10 were Warner Bros.’ DC League of Super-Pets, which landed in the No. 5 position, with a 3-day total of $5.77 million (cume of $67.4 million) in its fourth week in theaters, and Universal/Illumination’s Minions: Rise of Gru, which was at No. 8, with a $3.52 million three-day take and a total cume of $350 million in its eighth week.
Source: Funimation and Deadline.com
Watch the brand-new trailer for the movie below:
