Box Office Round-Up ~ 8/22/22

By: [email protected] on

As August—and the summer movie seasons—draws to a close, the box office saw two new entrants take the top spots on the chart. The latest feature in the iconic Japanese anime series, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero won the weekend with $20.17 million. Crunchyroll put a lot of weight into the distribution, giving it the widest domestic release ever for an anime feature. As a result, it’s the first anime feature to open at number one domestically since Pokémon: The First Movie back in 1999. Second place saw another new release with man vs. nature thriller Beast, starring Idris Elba, which opened with a modest $11.57 million. It’s a lower number than Universal Studios would probably like, especially considering Idris Elba will be competing with himself next weekend when Three Thousand Years of Longing hits theaters. However—and this may be a cold comfort—Beast did manage to outperform Elba’s previous feline-themed feature, beating 2019’s Cats by almost $4 million. Rounding out the top five were Bullet Train in third place with $8 million and DC League of Super-Pets in fifth place with $5.77 million. In between them was Top Gun: Maverick in fourth place, grossing $5.85 million and overtaking Avengers: Infinity War as the sixth highest grossing domestic release of all time. The summer’s biggest hit releases on VOD tomorrow (Aug. 23), so it may have trouble clearing $700 million and passing Black Panther for fifth place all-time, but at this point—perhaps fittingly—the sky’s the limit for Maverick.

1. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero ($20.17 MM)
Director: Tetsuro Kodama
Writers: Akira Toriyama
Cast: Sean Schemmel (Arlene Thornton & Associates)       
         Christopher Sabat (Dean Panaro)        
         Johnny Yong Bosch (Osbrink Talent Agency)

2. Beast ($11.57 MM)
Director: Baltasar Kormákur (WME)
Writers: Ryan Engle (CAA), Jaime Primak Sullivan (Mosaic)
Cast: Idris Elba (WME)       
         Sharlto Copley (WME)        
         Iyana Halley (Greene & Associates)

3. Bullet Train ($8 MM)
Director: David Leitch (CAA)
Writers: Zak Olkewicz (CAA)
Cast: Brad Pitt (CAA)        
         Joey King (UTA)        
         Aaron Taylor-Johnson (WME)

4. Top Gun: Maverick ($5.85 MM)
Director: Joseph Kosinski (CAA)
Writers: Peter Craig (CAA), Justin Marks (CAA), Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer (Range Media Partners), Christopher McQuarrie (CAA)

Cast: Tom Cruise (CAA)        
         Miles Teller (CAA)        
         Jennifer Connelly (CAA)

5. DC League of Super Pets ($5.77 MM)
Director: Jared Stern (WME), Sam Levine (Industry)
Writers: Jared Stern (WME), John Whittington (Verve)
Cast: Dwayne Johnson (WME)       
          Kevin Hart (UTA)        
          Kate McKinnon (UTA)

Source: Box Office Mojo, The Numbers