This past week Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, the latest DBZ feature film from Toriyama released in select theaters throughout the country. What happened next is baffling industry experts. The film did well, really well. Currently it has hauled in $5.97M in gross ticket sales. That may seem like chump change to wide release heavy hitters, but considering that Resurrection F debuted only on 183 screens it’s quite impressive. Already, it has made it’s way into the top ten grossing anime movies stateside beating Miyazaki favorites Howl’s Moving Castle and The Wind Rises. For another comparison, take the live-action disaster Dragonball Evolution. Evolution grossed a cumulative haul of just over $9.3M, including two weekends where it was shown at over 2,000 theaters.
The indie-distributed Resurrection F has been selling out all over the country and still has a couple of days to put Evolution to shame. It will reach 200 theaters tonight and 250 on Tuesday, ending its run on Wednesday in a total of 367 theaters. Resurrection F pulled in $322K on Sunday alone and shows no signs of slowing down.
The DBZ franchise is making it’s way back in a big way. With a brand new series, Dragon Ball Super, currently being aired in Japan and the strength of it’s two latest movies, Battle of Gods and Resurrection F, it’s a great time to be a Dragon Ball fan. The success of Resurrection F may be attributed to its aggressive marketing campaign that involved Hot Topic and special promos on Adult Swim.
Usually, the films in the DBZ franchise aren’t canon, but Battle of the Gods and Resurrection F are, kind of. Battle of Gods is about the fight between Goku and Lord Beerus and Resurrection F is about the return fan-favorite Freiza. Although these movies are canon to the Dragon Ball Super storyline, the TV series will be revisiting these events and portraying them differently form the film versions.
Do you plan on seeing Resurrection F? What will this doe for anime films as a whole? Let us know in the comments below!
Freelance writer and screenwriter living in Pittsburgh. Film buff, video game buff, and music buff, but not actually buff.
