Dragon Ball Super has smashed into the box office, but other mainstays like Pokemon and Demon Slayer had huge opening weekends.
While Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero has enjoyed its lengthy stay at the box office after a successful opening weekend, One Piece: Red is the latest Shonen Jump anime to enjoy its impact on the Japanese box office. Earning approximately over $16 million for its first weekend, the movie has only continued to swiftly sail past the likes of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 which will hopefully be the same in the US.
But throughout the years, there have been plenty of movies from the anime industry that have managed to gain large profits at the box office during their opening weekend, according to the numbers on Box Office Mojo. Whether they're major pop culture series or produced by acclaimed studios, these anime titles started strong for fans to enjoy on the big screen again and again.
Following the popularity of the Digimon series in the 1990s, it was only a matter of time before the iconic digital creatures received a cinematic outing. After a new Digimon attempts to consume everything online, it's up to the rest of the Digimon to unite and save the day.
While kids debated if they preferred Pokémon or Digimon on the playgrounds, there was no denying its impact at the box office during its opening weekend. Distributed by 20th Century Fox and collaborating with popular fast food restaurants for promotional toys, they were able to strike a chord with young children during its height of recognition.
Released last year, the third movie in the popular adaptation of the Shonen Jump Manga series saw the young heroes attempt to stop Humarise, a cult that believes that Quirks will eventually destroy humanity. Having planted bombs across the globe, they must try to disarm them and foil Humarise's plan in the process.
As the series has continued its rise in popularity, it was not shocking to see this topping the previous theatrical releases during its opening weekend. With a brand-new villain to question the world of super-powered individuals, the premise and promising footage in the trailer was enough to intrigue a lot of fans and see what fresh ideas it can introduce into the franchise that could live up to the best episodes of My Hero Academia.
Throughout Studio Ghibli's portfolio, they have dabbled in Western literature and gave it their own fresh spin on the big screen. Among them was The Secret World of Arrietty, based on the British book The Borrowers, which told the story of a group of miniature people who live within the walls of a family house.
Despite Hayao Miyazaki stepping down from the director's chair for this one, the movie became one of the best opening weekends for them at the US box office. With Disney's distribution and an acclaimed anime studio having produced it, it was no surprise to see how it would become a hit with their fans.
While still one of gaming's greatest JRPG franchises of all time, its popularity during its infancy in the 1990s and early 2000s spawned several theatrical releases. Among them was Pokémon The Movie 2000, which saw Ash try to help Lugia from being captured by a ruthless collector in one of the best movies from the series.
With the release of Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver on the Game Boy Color introducing a new generation of monsters to collect, the success of the games bought in excited fans who enjoyed their journeys across the Johto region. Furthermore, the popularity of the trading cards also helped as early ticket holders received the Legendary Mew trading card, helping to further the number of attendees.
Following on from the end of the Tournament of Power arc in Dragon Ball Super, the movie finally introduced fan-favorite Broly as an official character. Making him a more sympathetic, yet powerfully unstable Saiyan, Frieza uses him to finally exact his revenge against Goku and Vegeta while seeking the Dragon Balls on Earth.
Passionate viewers could finally see how Broly, as well as Gogeta, a fusion of Goku and Vegeta, would fit into the expanding world of the anime that quickly rose at the global box office. Furthermore, it continued after the series' cancelation and many wanted to know what the outcome was for the heroes afterward that they could only see at the cinema.
After being imprisoned for many years, Anubis has been freed from his shackles and attempts to destroy the world. But Yu-Gi-Oh protagonists Yugi and the spirit of Atem will put their cards to the test and see who could become the victor in their centuries-long rivalry.
Trading cards became popular because of this series and with their promotion for cinemagoers to receive one of four exclusive cards, many fans and collectors were enticed to see it. As it was released during the show's peak in popularity, fans were eager to see it while the next season was being produced.
Released earlier this year, the prequel to the Jujutsu Kaisen anime focuses on Yuta Okkotsu as a young man who attempts to control the cursed spirit of his childhood friend. Produced by Mappa, they were able to tell a fresh story in the series while also showing off their experience animating brilliantly choreographed fights and images of horror.
The movie features many highlights, but it was how it balanced its story well for fans and newcomers as a prequel that made it stand out from other action-packed anime releases where anyone could dive in. And with positive reviews, it started on a strong note and intrigued many to see what it had to offer.
After the smash-hit releases of Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Red on the Game Boy, everyone couldn't escape the quick rise in popularity of the beloved video game series that spawned trading cards, toys, a successful television series, and eventually, its first of many movies. Filled with never-before-seen Pokemon, Ash must go up against the powerful Mewtwo alongside Mew and other trainers to save the world.
Those who bought early tickets were rewarded with one of four exclusive trading cards that helped to entice people. But even without this special promotional offer, the success of Pokémon and the excitement of the first movie were simply too big to ignore.
Released this summer, the latest entry in the Dragon Ball Super series saw the revival of the Red Ribbon Army as they attempt to take over the Earth with two new powerful androids. With Goku and Vegeta away in Beerus' home world, it's up to Piccolo and Gohan to save the day.
The series may not return anytime soon, but the movie helped to fill in this void that many were eagerly anticipating to see where everyone was. And with it being the first computer-animated movie in the series, many wanted to see how it would look while also being happy to see the iconic anime characters in action again.
Taking place after the events of the first season, the story sees Tanjiro and co on board a train with Kyojuro, a powerful demon slayer. But as soon as they take off, the demon they seek starts to turn their dream journey across the country into a nightmare.
Its box office success in Japan not just encouraged many to watch the movie and see what the fuss was about, but also act as an introduction to those who may have missed the first season. Even critics who don't usually review anime titles were smitten, which helped to cement its growing box office number in the US from its impressive weekend debut.
One of the list writers for the website, Martyn Warren has been writing about geek culture since 2010. The British contributor for ScreenRant, he’s an animation enthusiast who also enjoys diving deep into a number of movies, television series, comics, and video games for his work. But he enjoys attending a number of comic-cons, screenings, and film festivals around the country.
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