Dragon Ball Super: Broly’ Goes #1 Box Office Opening in U.S. For Funimation Films
/Posted By Justin D Williams
The North American Box Office was no match for the Dragon Ball franchise and its Super Saiyan warriors. “Dragon Ball Super: Broly,” the highly-anticipated new anime feature from Funimation Films, the theatrical division of Sony Pictures Television’s Funimation, opened as the #1 movie in the U.S. with a stunning $7M+ box office on its first day. Opening on 1,440 screens including 180 IMAX and Cinemark XD premium large format screens, “Dragon Ball Super: Broly” also took 1st place among the Top 10 movies with a $5,695 per screen average. Based on yesterday’s box office, “Dragon Ball Super: Broly,” the 20th Dragon Ball feature film, is the biggest opening for an event film ever as well as the 5th highest earning anime theatrical opening of all time. The film’s $7M+ box office also sets a new opening day record for Funimation Films. The previous record was $1.97M set in 2015 by “Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’,” the 19th Dragon Ball film.
“Both anime and mainstream audience response to ‘Dragon Ball Super: Broly’ has been overwhelmingly positive. We anticipated a strong opening, but we’re thrilled that the box office exceeded even the high end of our estimate,” said Gen Fukunaga, CEO and President of Funimation. “We’re thrilled to hear that countless fans have or plan to watch the film multiple times. Fans are at the core of our strategy for this film. From the theatrical campaign and fan engagement events to our theatrical footprint and IMAX / Cinemark XD opening day presentation, our goal has been to make ‘Dragon Ball Super: Broly’ available to as many fans as possible through the widest array of touchpoints. This strategy has paid off.”
“Dragon Ball Super: Broly” follows the events of the hit anime series “Dragon Ball Super,” the first new Dragon Ball storyline from original creator Akira Toriyama in more than 18 years. Since premiering in summer 2015, “Dragon Ball Super” has propelled the popularity of the franchise globally – with both lifelong fans and a whole new generation of children and teens. The 2015 release of “Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’,” was a box office blockbuster – grossing $8.4M in North America to become the first independent film to make the Top 10 list of highest grossing anime films domestically as well as establish a new record for the highest grossing event style theatrical release in the U.S.
