Toei Hits Record Profits Citing 'Dragon Ball,' and More

Toei is having a huge year with not only the finale of Dragon Ball Super, but a huge movie from the franchise releasing worldwide. Not to mention the success of its other anime franchises like One Piece.

Such a strong year comes with a strong fiscal year as Toei reported record highs in profits for the first half of the fiscal year citing the new Dragon Ball video games and foreign releases.

Reporting on its income for its first quarter, Toei revealed a total net sales at 25.7 billion yen (about $228 million USD) which increased about 9 percent from last year. It's net income for the year checks in at 5.8 billion yen (about $52 million USD), which has a increase of about 34 percent. They are record high numbers for the company.

Toei cites the revenue from several Dragon Ball video game releases in the past year. Not only is there the continuing Dragon Ball Dokkan Battle smartphone game, but new releases like the Dragon Ball Legends mobile game and Arc System Works' Dragon Ball FighterZ have sold both well in Japan and in foreign markets.

Toei's licensing sales increased about 13 percent, and this includes foreign home video sales. As for the series that topped its license sales, that honor of course goes to Dragon Ball, which is having arguably the biggest year in franchise history. Other big franchises this year include One Piece, Pretty Cure, and Sailor Moon in Japan, and Saint Seiya and Digimon worldwide.

2018 felt like a year full of huge anime events, and it's reflected in Toei's numbers. Toei's about to end 2018 on a high note as well with the worldwide release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly officially launches in Japan this December, and is currently scheduled to screen in Austrailia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom as well. Funimation will be bringing the film to theaters in the United States on January 16th, and fans are just waiting to find out which theaters the film will release in.

You can read its synopsis below:

"This is the story of a new Saiyan. Earth is peaceful following the Tournament of Power. Realizing that the universes still hold many more strong people yet to see, Goku spends all his days training to reach even greater heights. Then one day, Goku and Vegeta are faced by a Saiyan called 'Broly' who they've never seen before. The Saiyans were supposed to have been almost completely wiped out in the destruction of Planet Vegeta, so what's this one doing on Earth? This encounter between the three Saiyans who have followed completely different destinies turns into a stupendous battle, with even Freeza (back from Hell) getting caught up in the mix."

via Animation Business Journal, Anime News Network