THE FIRST SLAM DUNK’s 1st Three Days in China Nets US$50 Million, Now 10th Highest-Grossing Anime Film Worldwide
Despite being the first Slam Dunk anime film in decades, THE FIRST SLAM DUNK has taken over the minds and souls of at least three different Asian countries even with the hardened defense of Suzume.
Thursday saw the Takehiko Inoue-directed film open in China to a record-breaking premiere and continued to press forward on the attack with a three-day opening higher than that of Suzume, which only was able to hold that record for a month. Unlike Suzume, THE FIRST SLAM DUNK opened on a Thursday, with Wednesday previews, meaning the three-day opening doesn’t include Sunday.
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As of Saturday, April 22, THE FIRST SLAM DUNK has made US$50.20 million in China, just over half of is US$99.04 million gross in Japan. Adding on the film’s US$35.43 million score in South Korea and THE FIRST SLAM DUNK has made US$184.67 million in these three countries, making it the 10th highest-grossing anime film of all-time around the world, pushing Stand By Me Doraemon out of the top 10.
The original Slam Dunk TV anime aired from 1993 to 1996, with four anime films being spun off from the original anime. You can catch an on-demand replay of the TV anime right here on Crunchyroll.
THE FIRST SLAM DUNK opened in Japan on December 3 in regular and IMAX theaters and expanded to Dolby Cinema screens on December 10. The film will be headed to the UK, Ireland and Malta from Anime Limited and Toei Animation Europe, who describes the film as such:
Ryota Miyagi and basketball have always been one thing. His love for this sport was transmitted to him by his older brother Sota, who died in an accident at sea when Ryota was still very young. He is the point guard of Shohoku, a team from the Kanagawa prefecture which gained a spot at Inter-High despite being unknown. Ryota is ready, together with his teammates, to face the “unbeatable” Sannoh, the champion team of the local tournament.
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Daryl Harding is a Senior Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.
