Crunchyroll, which is distributing the Japanese movie, says the sequel is scoring the best global opening ever for an anime film.

Directed by Tetsuro Kodama from a story by series creator Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Super 2 is the 21^st feature film in the long-running Dragon Ball universe and a sequel to 2018’s Dragon Ball Super: Broly. The CGI-animated martial arts fantasy, produced by Toei Animation, is playing in more than 3,100 cinemas in North America, including 324 IMAX locations that contributed a hefty $3.4 million, and in more than 100 countries overall.

Among those turning out to see Dragon Ball Super 2, males made up 75 percent of buyers in the U.S., while 70 percent of the audience was between the ages of 18 and 35.

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero easily won the weekend’s other nationwide new offering, Beast. Directed by Baltasar Kormakur, Beast opened to a modest $11.6 million.

It’s a disappointing start for the Universal release, which stars Idris Elba as father who takes his family on safari only to come face-to-face with an enraged lion. Beast, which received a lukewarm B Cinemascore, likewise skewed male (56 percent).

As Hollywood emerges from the pandemic, the August box office is notably light this year in terms of traditional summer tentpoles after a strong May, June and July. The dearth of product is putting additional pressure on theater chains, with mega-chain Cineworld — parent company of Regal Cinemas — revealing on Friday that it is exploring bankruptcy.

Sony’s Bullet Train fell to No. 3 in its sophomore outing with a projected $8 million. That’s a modest 41 percent decline.

Top Gun: Maverick remained high up on the chart as it flies toward the $700 million mark at the domestic box office.

A24’s specialty pic Bodies Bodies Bodies rounded out the top 10 as it expanded into more than 2,500 locations for a weekend gross of $2.4 million and domestic total of $7.4 million.