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.
