Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero soared to #1 at the Box Office, raking in a whopping $10 million in the United States over the course of Thursday/Friday opening day on August 18 and August 19, respectively. The film is estimated to gross over $20 million in the US over the course of its opening weekend, according to Crunchyroll, which released the figures on Saturday.
These numbers come in from a total of 3008 locations across the United States, making this the widest theatrical release for an anime film in the US. The film is Crunchyroll's first ever global release, with the film being shown on screens in 100 countries, with 13 dubbed languages, and 29 subtitled languages.
The breakdown from the film's first three days at the box office was shared on the Crunchyroll website. On Thursday, August 18, the film earned $4,303,671, followed by $6,584,653 on Friday, August 19. $5,768,686 was earned on Saturday. Official figures for Sunday are yet to be released; however, Crunchyroll shared their estimates for the last day of the opening weekend, which were set at $3,450,000 on Sunday, August 21. The new film follows the events of the Dragon Ball Super anime and the Broly movie released back in 2018, which brought in just under $10 million on its opening weekend. In Japan, the film earned $18 million as of August 7, having been officially released on June 11.
With the story done by series creator Akira Toriiyama, the plot for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero follows the return of the Red Ribbon Army that was once thought to be destroyed by Goku long ago. Former members of the Red Ribbon Army who still harbor feelings of contempt for Goku decide to unleash their revenge: two ultimate androids named Gamma 1 and Gamma 2, who consider themselves to be "superheroes". They attack Piccolo and Gohan, but the true objective of this new Red Ribbon Army remains unknown.
Fans of the Dragon Ball franchise have been galvanized by the various key visuals and trailers for the film, which revealed the protagonists of the film to be Piccolo and Gohan, rather than the usual combo of Vegeta and Goku. With a different approach to animation than the films before it, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is a unique installment in the franchise and the opening weekend haul definitely spells success for the 21st movie in the Dragon Ball franchise.
While August 19 was the film's official global release date, the film continues to premiere in countries across the globe throughout August, with India, Indonesia, and Lithuania expecting the film on August 26. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero will continue to premiere across the globe well into September, with the last premiere date being September 30 for Bulgaria. The film is the third anime film to top the United States Box Office, coming behind Pokemon: The First Movie in 1999, and Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train