Dragon Ball Super beats Beast and Orphan: First Kill at box office

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero has truly become super in one way: It’s managed to beat both Beast and Orphan in U.S. cinemas.

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero – the film from the hit anime series of the same name – has managed to top the box office this week on its debut, exceeding expectations and collecting $21 million in U.S ticket sales.

This is impressive on it’s own, and shows a growing appetite for anime films within western cinemas. But the film has managed to push even beyond that.

Since the film has topped box offices, that means that it has overtaken other August releases, including Idris Elba’s newest film Beast, and horror prequel Orphan: First Kill.

Dragon Ball Super makes a super stint at the box office

The newest Dragon Ball film instalment – which was distributed by Crunchyroll on 3,007 screens – earned twice as much as the weekend’s other nationwide release, Beast, a Universal movie which starred Idris Elba and a viscously violent lion. The survival thriller opened to a modest $11.5 million from 3,743 U.S. cinemas.

Psychological horror film, Orphan: First Kill, didn’t do as well despite being a prequel to a highly popular 2009 film. It collected $1.6 million from just 498 venues, though this is likely due to the film simultaneously being released on Paramount+, the studio’s streaming service.

Action-romp Bullet Train came in third at the box office after two weeks at Number 1, bringing in $8 million in its third week. Top Gun: Maverick pulled $5.85 million on its thirteenth week, and DC League of Super Pets took $5.77 million.

Crunchyroll is feeling super about Dragon Ball’s success

This success for an anime movie is nothing ground-breaking. Earlier this year, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 gained $17.6 million in its debut, and in 2021 Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train generated $21.2 million, even with limited capacity cinemas.

But the achievement is still exciting, according to Crunchyroll.

“We’re absolutely thrilled that Dragon Ball fans could come together to experience and enjoy this amazing film in theaters,” said Mitchel Berger, Crunchyroll’s senior VP of global commerce. “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.”

Read our review of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero here.