Dragon Ball Super Hero: How Did Anime Movies Become Box Office Success Stories?
Anime in the US has followed a cultural trajectory that has become common amongst traditionally nerdy interests. It was once considered an oddity that fans would have to undergo significant inconvenience to enjoy, but it's now become a massive medium that can compete with any other big name. A new anime film achieved a rare feat that warrants a look at how far things have come.
In many ways, Dragon Ball Z is the quintessential anime for an American audience. Almost anyone familiar with the concept of anime could name-drop Akira Toriyama's long-running opus. It was a formative experience for fans of multiple generations, even into the modern day. It's fitting that it's the series that would continue to be immensely powerful in the American market.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Review
In a feat accomplished only twice before, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero claimed victory over the American box office weekend in which it debuted. The first to attain that accomplishment was, of course, the overwhelming cultural phenomenon that is Pokémon. Pokémon: The First Movie was released in late 1999 to immense box office success. It's still the most financially successful anime film in the US 23 years later. The film pulled in a staggering $31 million in its opening weekend, absolutely dominating competition such as the Denzel Washington-led thriller The Bone Collector and Kevin Smith's Dogma. No less than 22 years passed before another anime film managed the same level of success.
In 2021, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Movie: Mugen Train was released to a staggering level of success. The manga and resulting anime series have enjoyed a level of popularity that defies explanation. It's the highest-grossing manga series ever put to the
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