Dragon Ball might be on a break with its anime these days, but that does not mean the anime is lagging in sales. The franchise brought Dragon Ball Super to a close more than a year ago, leaving fans to wonder about Goku’s future. Luckily, the series has lived on successfully with its manga at Shueisha, but Toei Animation is still making bank on the title.
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Recently, Toei put out its latest financial report for its second quarter. The lengthy report broke down sales for its top-grossing franchises, and it turns out Dragon Ball made number one… again.
When it comes to domestic licensing within Japan, Dragon Ball brought in 4.343 billion yen. Yes, that is billion with a huge ‘b’ upfront. The title beat out One Piece which earned 2.096 billion, but Dragon Ball came in first with more than 50% of Toei’s revenue this quarter domestically.
Overseas, Toei made a killing off its film licenses with Dragon Ball barely leading the pack. The franchise netted 1.695 billion yen with One Piece coming in second at 1.412 billion yen. It seems Dragon Ball is still making cash from its latest movie ventures, but One Piece will likely knock the franchise out of place given its late-summer premiere of One Piece: Stampede.
Finally, Toei put out its overseas licensing numbers which lifted up Dragon Ball in a big way. The franchise made 4.765 billion yen this quarter while One Piece came second with just 1.840 billion yen. It is clear Dragon Ball swept away audiences internationally, and Toei is reaping the benefits of its success.
With so much money at stake for Toei, fans are beginning to wonder whether Dragon Ball will return to the small screen with a new series. It has been rumored for some time that a new anime is in the works, but Toei Animation has denied all reports of such a series to date.
How much money have you put into your Dragon Ball obsession? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block on Saturday evenings, and is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese-language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. The manga has chapters that can currently be read for free thanks to Viz Media, and Dragon Ball Super’s big movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
