Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero has been blowing up US cinemas as powerfully as one of Goku’s Ki Blasts, but where does it rank against other anime films at the box office?
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero has been taking the world by storm. With its bright colors, fun characters, and bombastic action, it’s considered to be one of the best Dragon Ball movies in years. You can actually read our review of it here.
Anime films in general have become very popular in US cinemas as of late, with the growing rise of the medium. But turns out, the film has actually managed to rank among the best of them.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero has actually managed to break into the top five highest-grossing anime films, but where does it rank exactly?
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero ranks fourth in US box office records
The Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero anime film earned an estimated $34,932,582 after Labor Day weekend, which is its third weekend in North America. This means that the film now ranks fourth in terms of the highest-grossing anime films in US cinemas.
Its gross brings Dragon Ball above another recent hit anime film, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which gained $34,542,754 in 2022. The two films are now ranking 28th and 29th in the overall US box office this year, below Downton Abbey: A New Era ($43,896,550) and above The Northman, The Bob’s Burgers Movie, and Beast.
This success is likely due to it being the widest opening ever for an anime film, as it is being screened by both Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures. The film opened in the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland in its first week, with both dubbed and subbed screenings. Now the film is available to watch in Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile, and other countries outside the United States.
This is the most successful a Dragon Ball film has ever been in the US, as the film ranked sixth on its first weekend alone, with $21,124,049. Comparatively, Dragon Ball Super: Broly earned $9.8 million during its opening weekend in the US and Canada.
The only anime films that have earned more in their US box office totals are Pokémon: The First Movie, Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba -The Movie: Mugen Train, and Pokémon 2000 – The Movie. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero also ranks third amongst them for biggest US openings, and is the third anime film to top the US weekend box office. Pokémon: The First Movie opened with $31,036,678 in 1999, and Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train premiered with $21,234,994 in 2021.
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Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’s daily box office tallies in North America so far are:
- Thursday, August 18: $4,303,671
- Friday, August 19: $6,611,743
- Saturday, August 20: $5,813,401
- Sunday, August 21: $4,395,234
- Monday, August 22: $1,514,414
- Tuesday, August 23: $1,593,787
- Wednesday, August 24: $1,053,705
- Thursday, August 25: $910,359
- Friday, August 26: $1,323,852
- Saturday, August 27: $1,917,271
- Sunday, August 28: $1,436,515
- Monday, August 29: $421,776
- Tuesday, August 30: $499,764
- Wednesday, August 31: $347,090
- Friday, September 2: $511,000 (estimated)
- Saturday, September 3: $1,080,000 (estimated)
- Sunday, September 4: $814,000 (estimated)
- Monday, September 5: $394,000 (estimated)
Box office Mojo had listed the film as having made $77,132,582 worldwide, before this weekend’s estimated box office returns, and the film is only expected to grow from here.
If you’re yet to catch the film, check out the trailer below. The plot is described as thus:
The Red Ribbon Army was once destroyed by Son Goku. Individuals who carry on its spirit have created the ultimate androids — Gamma 1 and Gamma 2. However, these two androids call themselves superheroes and start attacking Piccolo and Gohan.
The film was directed by Tetsuro Kodama, with Chikashi Kubota as the animation director. The original creator of the Dragon Ball manga, Akira Toriyama, worked on the film’s story, screenplay, and character designs.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is still available to watch in selected cinemas.
