Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Dominates Weekend Box Office with Record Opening
After a long wait, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is in theaters, and the legendary anime hit the screen hard. After making its debut in Japan months ago, Crunchyroll and Toei Animation brought the long-awaited film stateside this past weekend, and the box office results are in. Dragon Ball took home the weekend's top spot domestically after scoring a record-breaking opening against competition like Beast.
According to Exhibitor Relations, the new Dragon Ball flick grossed a solid $20 million USD in its opening weekend. This big achievement comes on the heels of Crunchyroll's biggest theatrical release to date. With nearly 4,000 screens showing the movie, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero had the largest drop of an anime movie stateside to date, and it did the same on a global scale to boot.
Of course, fans will be glad to know this movie's success is comparable to that of Dragon Ball Super: Broly. The latter debuted stateside a few years back to the tune of $20.2 million USD over a five-day period. Now, the IP has proven lightning can strike twice despite all the time distancing the hits.
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According to box office receipts, the domestic box office ranked Bullet Train second this week while Top Gun: Maverick continued its high-flying gross. In fact, the Paramount film managed to scrape past Avengers: Infinity War this weekend to become the 6th highest-grossing film in the U.S. to date.
As for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, its win at the box office continues to show just how valuable the medium has become to entertainment giants. Crunchyroll's massive theatrical release was coordinated with help from its parent company Sony Pictures. From Netflix to Disney, Hollywood's top brands are looking at anime in a new light as movies such as Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train and Jujutsu Kaisen 0 have proven their bankability. And given Goku's popularity worldwide, there was no way Dragon Ball Super's new film could have flopped with its global release.
What do you make of this box office blowout? Did you check out Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero in theaters? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.