Highest Grossing Anime Movies of All-Time

While anime movies have a long history, stretching back to the closing months of World War Two, anime has exploded in popularity in recent years. Although most of the focus is on popular anime television series such as Naruto, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Dragonball Z (just to name a few), anime movies have proved to be popular at the box office as well, not only in Japan, but around the world. Here are 15 of the top grossing anime movies ever according to Box Office Mojo.

Box office is based on North American domestic releases. Each of the links takes you to that movie's box office receipts page where you can track how much the movie made on its opening day as well as what it made on a day-by-bay basis.

15. Akira
Directed By: Katsuhiro Otomo

Release Date (US): 12/25/89

Domestic Gross $553,171

Widely regarded as not only one of the best anime movies ever made, but one of the one of the best animated movies of all time, Otomo's groundbreaking film redefined the second wave of anime.

To read the detailed box office breakdown page for this anime movie, click HERE.

14. Metropolis (2002)

Directed By: Rintaro (written by Katsuhiro Otomo)

Release Date (US): 1/25/02

Domestic Gross $722,932

Visually stunning, blending its source material from the original Tezuka manga with a page out of Fritz Lang's silent film classic, Metropolis, this anime movie is the 14^th highest grossing anime film of all time. Although the plot leaves some dangling questions, the film's stunning visuals more than make up for it.

13. Pokemon Heroes

Directed By: Kunihiko Yuyama and Jim Malone

Release Date (US): 5/16/03

Domestic Gross $746,381

This film received a limited North American release (196 theaters) before going to DVD. Pokemon Heroes is also the lowest grossing movie in the Pokemon franchise (which should be a hint as to what's coming up on the Box Office list!)

To read the detailed box office breakdown page for this anime movie, click HERE.

12. Paprika

Directed By: Satoshi Kon

Release Date (US): 5/25/07

Domestic Gross $882,267

This R-rated anime movie received a limited theatrical release to make it eligible for the Academy Awards. Although it didn't receive a nomination, this anime movie was widely acclaimed on the festival circuit.

To see a detailed box office breakdown page for this film, click HERE.

11. Cowboy Bebop

Directed By: Shinichiro Watanabe (with Hiroyuki Okiura)

Release Date (US): 4/4/03

Domestic Gross $1,000,045

This R-rated film based on the popular Cowboy Bebop TV series, the film opened to mixed reviews. The movie version covers events between episodes 22 and 23 of the original TV series.

To see a detailed box office breakdown page for this film, click HERE.

10. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

Directed By: Mamoru Oshii

Release Date (US): 9/17/04

Domestic Gross $1,043,896

With a large production budget ($20 million) this sequel to the original Ghost in the Shell, was not considered a sequel by the film's director, Oshii.

To see a more detailed box office page for this film, click HERE.

9. Pokemon 4Ever

Directed By: Kunihiko Yuyama and Jim Malone

Release Date (US): 10/11/02

Domestic Gross $1,727,447

While only grossing about $2 million domestic, this fourth official Pokemon movie made well over $26 million internationally. As with several other anime movies on this list, this film received a limited theatrical run, which explains the relatively low US box office.

To see a more detailed box office page for this film, click HERE.

8. Princess Mononoke

Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki

Release Date (US): 10/29/99

Domestic Gross $2,375,308

Numbers can be deceiving on this movie which grossed $157 million worldwide in addition to its over 2 million at the US box office. The English language version features the voices of Claire Danes, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Minnie Driver Gillian Anderson and Billy Bob Thornton.

To read the detailed box office breakdown page for this anime movie, click HERE.

7. Howl's Moving Castle

Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki

Release Date (US): 6/10/05

Domestic Gross $4,711,096

While this movie did well in domestic box office, it grossed an additional $230.5 million overseas and was nominated for an Academy Award. It's based on the Diana Wynne Jones novel and features the voice acting talent of Billy Crystal, Lauren Bacall, Jean Simmons and others for the English-language version.

To read the detailed box office breakdown page for this anime movie, click HERE.

6. Digimon: The Movie

Directed By: Mamoru Hosoda, Minoru Hohoda and Shigeyasu Yanauchi

Release Date (US): 10/6/2000

Domestic Gross $9,631,153

With a production budget of $5 million, this movie rankes higher in US box office than many other anime movies that made far more internationally. Digimon grossed an additional $7 million in foreign distribution.

To see the detailed box office gross page for this movie, click HERE.

5. Spirited Away

Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki

Release Date (US): 9/20/02

Domestic Gross $10,055,859

Yet another film on the list with US box office numbers dwarfed by its foreign box office receipts. Spirited Away grossed an additional $265 million overseas. Spirited Away was the first anime movie to win an Academy Award.

To see the detailed box office gross page for this movie, click HERE

4. Pokemon 3: The Movie

Directed By: Kunihiko Yuyama and Michael Haigney

Release Date (US): 4/6/01

Domestic Gross $17,052,128

The third Pokemon movie grossed an additional $51 million overseas. Despite the strong numbers, the movie was considered a box office failure by many.

To see the detailed box office gross page for this movie, click HERE.

3. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie

Directed By: Hasuki Tsuji

Release Date (US): 8/13/04

Domestic Gross $19,765,868

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Movie, officially entitled Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light, was developed for Western audiences. This shows in its box office numbers. While grossing nearly $20 million in the US, overseas box office was under $10 million, which, considering the popularity of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, is quite a low figure. Perhaps box office numbers would have been better if the movie hadn't been such a stinker.

To see the detailed box office gross page for this movie, click HERE.

2. Pokemon: The Movie 2000

Directed By: Kunihiko Yuyama and Michael Haigney

Release Date (US): 7/21/2000

Domestic Gross $43,758,684

This follow-up to the first Pokemon movie also grossed an additional $90.2 million overseas and featured a number of new Pokemon.

To see the detailed box office gross page for this movie, click HERE.

1. Pokemon: The First Movie

Directed By: Kunihiko Yuyama and Michael Haigney

Release Date (US): 11/10/99

Domestic Gross $85,744,662

At the height of Poke-mania (and just in time for the Christmas shopping season), the first Pokemon Movie burst onto American screens with strong box office returns and generally mediocre reviews. This movie earned an additional $78 million overseas.

To see the detailed box office gross page for this movie, click HERE.

As you can see, domestic box office is often misleading with anime movies. Some do well both domestically and overseas, such as the first Pokemon movie, while others do little business in the US, but phenomenally well overseas. Adding in foreign box office, we see that Spirited Away with a combined gross of $275 million tops the list of highest grossing anime movies.

Sources: Box Office Mojo, which you can access HERE, Wikipedia and the Internet Movie Database, which you can access HERE.