Earth’s mightiest Saiyan Goku is set to return to U.S. and Canadian theaters with today’s announcement that Funimation Films has acquired the theatrical rights to the newDragon Ball Supermovie, entitledDragon Ball Super: Broly. This is the twentieth film in theDragon Ballfranchise and is based on the story, screenplay and character designs of original creatorAkira Toriyama. As part of its distribution agreement with producer Toei Animation and the film’s international distributor Twentieth Century Fox, Funimation also secured the home entertainment, video on demand and broadcast rights to the film. This latest agreement builds on the 22-year long partnership between Toei Animation and Funimation, which has contributed to the global success and pop culture status of theDragon Ball franchise.
Dragon Ball Super: Brolyis anticipated to release in North America in January 2019 after opening December 14th in Japan. The theatrical dates for the film’s run will be announced later.
Toei Animation teased the Broly-centric story on Twitter recently, revealing a message from Akira Toriyama:
“We are excited to be partnering with Toei Animation and Twentieth Century Fox on the theatrical release of ‘Dragon Ball Super: Broly,’” saidGen Fukunaga, CEO and President of Funimation. “The Dragon Ball North America Tour is really just the beginning. We have some big surprises in store for Dragon Ball fans of all ages. With the success of the last two Dragon Ball movies and the tremendous popularity of ‘Dragon Ball Super,’ we know that this theatrical event will deliver all the excitement that Dragon Ball fans have come to expect.”
Dragon Ball Super: Brolyfollows the events of the hit anime seriesDragon Ball Super, the first newDragon Ballstoryline from original creator Akira Toriyama in more than 18 years. Since premiering in summer 2015,Dragon Ball Superhas propelled the popularity of the franchise globally – with both lifelong fans and a new generation of children and teens. The lastDragon Ballfilm,Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’(2015), was a box office hit – grossing $8M in North America to become the first independent film to make the Top 10 list of highest grossing anime films domestically.
