My Hero Academia’s new movie has already set an incredible franchise record

My Hero Academia is having a bumper year, and the new movie has already set standards for the anime in Japan.

My Hero Academia: You’re Next arrives during a peak period for the franchise. Chapter 430 has ended the story of Deku and Class 1-A in the manga, while Season 7 kicked off the fight against Shigaraki that’ll carry through to the conclusion.

You’re Next arrived in Japanese cinemas on August 2, 2024, and had a record-setting opening night that’s expected to snowball into a huge weekend for the franchise.

According to anime box office analyst Nakayasee, My Hero Academia: You’re Next scored 440 million yen (arouund $3 million) on first night showing. The current trajectory indicates the new movie will cross one billion yen (around $6.8 million) by Monday.

For context, that’s 120 million more than the previous anime movie, World Heroes’ Mission, earned on opening night in 2021. As the fourth film in the franchise, such growth truly demonstrates the fanbase and current interest in My Hero Academia.

These numbers do fall short of overall box office numbers for the year. Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle brought in 2.23 billion yen in its first weekend in Japan, but that was a long-awaited film sequel to a beloved anime show, so the demand was on another scale.

Like the previous films, You’re Next involves a side story, this time pitting Deku and his friends against Dark Might, an evil version of All Might who’s tied to a bizarre alien city that arrives from the sky. It’s all very strange and ominous, bringing a different tone to the anime.

It should have considerable legs in the coming months before travelling overseas. International audiences will get their chance to see it on October 11, 2024 – once they’ve gotten over the My Hero Academia ending, of course.

For more on that, check out our guides on if Deku becomes No 1 hero and whether he gets One For All back.