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Jul 27, 2024 · Over 1,000 (ongoing) Pretty Cure may not exactly be a household name outside of Japan, but it's one of the country's highest-grossing anime franchises. Despite starting decades after the hype for the magical girl fad died down, Pretty Cure was a hit the moment it began in 2004.
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- Pokemon – $99 Billion. Of course, the biggest anime franchise of all time is Pokemon. You knew it was coming—Pokemon is a notorious marketing behemoth.
- Anpanman – $60 Billion. Anpanman is one of the most popular children’s superhero characters in all of Japan. He’s easily recognized by his head which is made from a red bean paste pastry called an “anpan”, hence the name Anapanman.
- Dragon Ball – $27 Billion. If you watched Toonami, you probably came across Dragon Ball and the sequel series Dragon Ball Z once or twice. This franchise was huge and still is, with new content still coming out from creator Akira Toriyama.
- Gundam – $26 Billion. This mecha franchise was created in 1979 by Yoshiyuki Tomino. It’s one of the most well-known mecha franchises of all time and is known to have inspired many creators in the mecha genre.
Films made in Japan produce revenue through various sources; the lists below only consider box office earnings at cinemas, not other sources of income such as merchandising or home video. The lists include both anime and live-action films produced by Japanese studios, but do not include English-language international co-productions between ...
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- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train (2020) Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is one of the hottest anime right now. After two successful seasons, Ufotable adapted the Mugen Train story arc into a single film.
- Spirited Away (2001) Spirited Away is another hit by Hayao Miyazaki and the one that cemented him in the minds of everyone else as an authority figure in the world of Anime.
- Your Name (2016) Your Name is the movie that positioned Makoto Shinkai in the zeitgeist of pop culture. The complex story follows two teenagers, Taki and Mitsuha, who mysteriously swap bodies and develop a profound connection across time and space.
- Suzume (2022) Suzume is another masterpiece written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. The film tells the story in Kyushu, where a 17-year-old girl named Suzume Iwato finds a young man named Souta Munakata, who is on a mission to find and close doors.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995 - 1996) - Approx. $ 12 Billion. Stream On Netflix. Neon Genesis Evangelion is among the best mecha series, as well as among the best anime to come out of the '90s, overall.
- Sailor Moon (1992 - 1993) - Approx. $ 13.9 Billion. Stream On Hulu. The shonen demographic is certainly among the most popular to appeal to when it comes to anime, but Sailor Moon was a cultural icon in its own right in the '90s for the shoujo demographic.
- Yu-Gi-Oh! (1998) - Approx. $ 19.8 Billion. Stream On Hulu. While the anime shows have been saturated and aren't the most talked about within fan circles, the original series was another staple of the late '90s and the Yu-Gi-Oh!
- One Piece (1997 - ) - Approx. $ 20.5 Billion. Stream On Crunchyroll. The last consistent member of Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine's era of the "Big Three" manga, Eiichiro Oda's One Piece IP as a whole has shown immense staying power in the mainstream.
Aug 6, 2024 · From Makoto Shinkai's Weathering With You to Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, these are the highest-grossing anime movies to date.
May 29, 2024 · Makoto’s latest work, Suzume no Tojimari, broke records and entered the top 10 highest grossing anime movies of all time after it grossed over US$323 million worldwide. With this achievement, two of his works are now on the list, cementing him as one of the greatest anime directors of all time.
