Can Dragon Ball's New Movie Defeat Demon Slayer?

Does Dragon Ball's next movie have a chance at beating the box office success of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's first big movie? Dragon Ball Super: Broly was a pretty big anime release when it hit theaters back in 2018, and its success in international territories reflected just how big the Dragon Ball Super anime had gotten by the end of its run. Now a few years later, Toei Animation has announced Dragon Ball Super will be releasing a new movie next year. Unfortunately, the anime landscape around the world has changed a lot in these past years.

Dragon Ball Super's success was impressive in its heyday, but the fandom and pop culture recognition for anime has greatly widened in Japan and international territories. The United States in particular has shifted its perspective quite a bit, and it's seen a ton of new anime projects licensed and produced compared to previous years. At the height of all of this recent renewed fervor for anime, and possibly the best example of the new wave of hype, is Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Not only was the first season a huge hit, but its follow up feature film is in the midst of a totally unprecedented run at the time of this writing. Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train is now the most successful global film of 2020 and the most successful Japanese film of all time. Unfortunately no matter how well Dragon Ball Super's next movie does, surpassing this huge, lightning-in-a-bottle style, mountain of milestones just isn't possible.

Even more salt in the wound is Mugen Train already surpassing Dragon Ball Super: Broly's domestic box office too long before its domestic run ends. And this is all in the midst of a pandemic where many theaters are just opening up. That's still not enough to count out Dragon Ball Super, however. Dragon Ball Super's new movie does have the benefit of opening in a world post-Mugen Train, and that does offer a wider net of potential success than Broly ever had. It may never reach those same levels, but it's not impossible.

Dragon Ball Super does have the brand recognition (but potentially not as wide of an audience as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba currently enjoys) and will likely be a huge event opening given the fact this is the first new anime release for the franchise since 2018. There's also the potential for a new anime movie or series to come after if this next movie is a success, so that's a reward in its own way too.

So, the ultimate answer is no. Dragon Ball Super's next movie cannot defeat Demon Slayer: Mugen Train at the box office. It'll be a huge success in many ways, but maybe not at that dominating worldwide level. What do you think? Does Dragon Ball Super's next movie have a chance of defeating Demon Slayer's box office success? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or you can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!