The film, “The First Slam Dunk” has gained significant profits around the globe since hitting theaters in Japan. While the basketball anime was arriving in North America this summer, AMC Theaters has apparently shared the release date for the movie that has been taking the world by storm, the film is set to arrive in U.S. theaters on July 28.
Based on Takehiko Inoue’s best-selling manga “Slam Dunk,” which was serialized from 1990-1996 in Shonen Jump and spawned into an anime series by “Dragon Ball” and “Sailor Moon” studio Toei Animation from 1993-1996. which consisted of 101 episodes; the studio also produced four anime films while the series was still airing. “The First Slam Dunk” officially marks the franchise’s first movie in nearly three decades.
“The film follows Shohoku High School’s ‘speedster’ point guard, Ryota Miyagi, who always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure,” reads the synopsis. “In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the Shohoku basketball team along with Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, and Mitsui as they take the stage at the Inter-High School National Championship. And now, they are on the brink of challenging the reigning champions, Sannoh Kogyo High School.”
Since its theatrical debut in Japan and China, it has already earned over $232 million worldwide. It also recently won the Best Animation of the Year award at the 2023 Japan Academy Prize.
The film was produced by Toei Animation and distributed in North America by GKIDS, as generations of fans prepare for Anime Expo 2023, the anime’s biggest event has announced a major film premiere at the July convention.
“The First Slam Dunk” will compete against spookier box office fare, such as Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” and A24’s “Talk to Me,” it will also debut in the same month as “Mission Impossible– Dead Reckoning Part One,” “Barbie,” and “Oppenheimer.”
