Dragon Ball Profits Still Insanely High Despite Hiatus, According to New Report

Dragon Ball is still one of the most profitable anime franchises, and Akira Toriyama's series has no signs of slowing down anytime soon. As you probably know, Dragon Ball Super has been in hiatus for years, and the studio hasn't released any new films since 2018. If the latest fiscal report is correct, the popular anime franchise is still crushing the competition.

Credit: Toei Animation

Toei Animation, the production company behind Dragon Ball, shared the first quarter report for the 2022 fiscal year, and things are looking great for the shonen franchise.

The report reveals that Dragon Ball brought in 1.56 billion yen ($14,269,381 USD) to Toei Annimation's domestic licensing division, which is almost half of the company's total profits as the branch earned 3.2 billion yet overall. One Piece's results were also impressive with its 1.05 billion yen profit.

With 425 million yen, Dragon Ball was only second place when it comes to overseas film licensing. One Piece is on top of the list with 594 million yen, and Sailor Moon placed third with 224 million yen. Digimon made it to fourth place with 174 million yen.

However, in terms of overseas licensing, Dragon Ball dominated the competition with 2.63 billion yen. One Piece followed in second place with 785 million yen. Slam Dunk made it third with 605 million yen, and Digimon placed fourth with 269 million yen.

Read More:What Dragon Ball Super Movie's "Super Hero" Title Could Mean (Will the Great Saiyaman Return?)

Based on this fiscal report, it's clear that Dragon Ball is still doing great at Toei Animation thanks to its total gross of 4.6 billion yen. Overseas licensing for the franchise continues to go up every year, and even though the movie licensing has fallen, that's expected to change next year, when the 2022 movie, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, is released in theaters worldwide.

It's also likely that the anime franchise will return to television in the near future with Season 2 of Dragon Ball Super possibly releasing within a few years.