Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘Dragon Ball Super’ bests ‘Beast’ at box office with $20.1M

“Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” topped the charts in its first weekend in theaters, with $20.1 million in ticket sales according to studio estimates on Sunday

Via AP news wire
Sunday 21 August 2022 12:08 EDT

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Idris Elba may go head-to-head with a lion in “Beast,” but the action flick was no match for the latest “Dragon Ball” movie at the North American box office this weekend.

“Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” topped the charts in its first weekend in theaters, with $20.1 million in ticket sales according to studio estimates on Sunday. “Beast,” meanwhile, settled for a second-place debut with $11.6 million.

Crunchyroll released “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” on 3,900 screens in North America, marking the widest-ever opening for an anime. The Toei Animation production was directed by Tetsuro Kodama, who had the support of “Dragon Ball” creator Akira Toriyama. The Dragon Ball universe is almost 40 years old, and includes manga, television shows, movies, games and toys.

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

“Beast,” meanwhile, opened on 3,743 screens in North America. The film, directed by Baltasar Kormákur (“Everest”) stars Elba as a widowed father of two teenage girls, played by Iyana Halley and Leah Jeffries, who find themselves on the run from a bloodthirsty lion during a trip to South Africa.

Elba also has another film opening in theaters next weekend — George Miller's fantasy epic “Three Thousand Years of Longing.”

Sony's “Bullet Train," meanwhile, landed in third place after two weekends at No. 1 with an estimated $8 million, bringing its domestic total to $68.9 million. Paramount's “Top Gun: Maverick” placed fourth in its 13th weekend in theaters with an additional $5.9 million. “Top Gun" has made over $683 million in North America to date, which was was enough to overtake “Avengers: Infinity War” as the sixth highest grossing domestic release of all time. “DC League of Super-Pets” rounded out the top five.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in