“Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” topped the box office in its debut, beating expectations by collecting an impressive $21 million in North American ticket sales.
“We’re absolutely thrilled that ‘Dragon Ball’ fans could come together to experience and enjoy this amazing film in theaters,” Mitchel Berger, Crunchyroll’s senior VP of global commerce, said in a statement. “Crunchyroll thanks all of the fans, whether or not you are a ‘super’ fan or a newcomer, and we hope they come back again and again.”
“Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” is the latest example of the passionate audience for anime films in the United States. Crunchyroll, which is owned by Sony Pictures, has been owning the market in North America. Earlier this year, the company’s PG-13 “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” notched a remarkable $17.6 million in its debut, while its 2021 release “Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train” generated $21.2 million to start, which is even more impressive since cinemas were still operating at reduced capacity at the time. However, anime features tend to play like horror films in terms of ticket sales, with front-loaded performances begetting substantial declines after the first week of release.
