Box Office: ‘Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’ Crushes Idris Elba’s ‘Beast’ With $21 Million Debut

variety.com:

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” topped the box office in its debut, beating expectations by collecting an impressive $21 million in North American ticket sales.The anime film, playing on 3,007 screens, is backed by the production company Crunchyroll, which specializes in Japanese anime film and television. “Super Hero” is a necessary bright spot in an otherwise dreary August at the movies.

The newest “Dragon Ball Super” installment earned twice as much as the weekend’s other new nationwide release, Universal’s survival thriller “Beast,” starring Idris Elba.

Dinged by mixed reviews, “Beast” opened to a modest $11.5 million from 3,743 North American cinemas.“We’re absolutely thrilled that ‘Dragon Ball’ fans could come together to experience and enjoy this amazing film in theaters,” Mitchel Berger, Crunchyroll’s senior VP of global commerce, said in a statement. “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.” “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” is the latest example of the passionate audience for anime films in the United States, and Crunchyroll, which is mostly owned by Sony Pictures, has been owning the market in North America.

Earlier this year, the company’s PG-13 “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” notched a remarkable $17.6 million in its debut, while its 2021 release “Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train” generated $21.2 million to start, which is even more impressive since cinemas were still operating at reduced capacity.