Anime fans are going wild for Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, and it’s showing at the North American box office, pulling in over $5 million and hot on the heels of My Hero Academia: You’re Next’s $5.04 million haul. Dropped on June 6, 2025, this compilation film of the first three episodes of Dan Da Dan Season 2 is smashing expectations for a limited theater run. With its colorful animation, wacky mix of sci-fi, horror, and rom-com, and a super fun vibe, it’s proving anime’s got serious pull. Here’s why Evil Eye is making such a splash and how it’s stacking up against My Hero Academia.
The Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye trailer got everyone hyped, teasing the Evil Eye arc where Momo (voiced by Shion Wakayama/Abby Trott), Okarun (Natsuki Hanae/A.J. Beckles), and Turbo Granny (Mayumi Tanaka/Barbara Goodson) take on the creepy Avatar of Hatred, Evil Eye (Mutsumi Tamura/Anne Yatco). Directed by Fūga Yamashiro and Abel Góngora at Science SARU, it picks up right after Season 1’s big cliffhanger, diving into a spooky hot springs mystery with Jiji, Momo’s old friend. Fans rushed to theaters for this early peek at Season 2, which hits Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll on July 3, 2025.
The box office numbers are wild. It kicked off with $3.55 million over the opening weekend across 1,085 theaters, snagging eighth place and beating Solo Leveling: ReAwakening’s $3.35 million. By the second weekend, it added $644,631, pushing its U.S. total past $5 million—three times what Dan Da Dan: First Encounter made last year. The folks at GKIDS Films are stoked, noting the film crossed $4 million and got extra showtimes due to crazy demand. It’s now super close to My Hero Academia: You’re Next, which hit $5.04 million in the U.S. but racked up $32.2 million worldwide, thanks to a huge $27 million from international markets.
Why’s Evil Eye doing so hot? Well, Dan Da Dan blew up since its October 2024 debut, ruling Netflix’s non-English streaming charts late last year. Fans are giving it a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, loving the bright visuals, hilarious moments, and epic fights—like the possessed Okarun vs. Jiji showdown. Since it’s a compilation of TV episodes, not a standalone movie like My Hero Academia, its box office run is even more impressive. Co-director Abel Góngora spilled to Collider that they played with 3D animation to level up Season 2’s style, and it’s clearly clicking with fans.
While Evil Eye is killing it in the U.S., it’s not likely to match My Hero Academia’s global numbers, with only about $1 million from international markets so far. With Season 2 hitting streaming soon, overseas fans might skip theaters. But since it’s built from Season 2’s animation with minimal tweaks, it’s a low-budget win for GKIDS, hyping up the Dan Da Dan brand for July. It even outdid Marvel’s Thunderbolts ($290,000) on June 9 with $350,000, showing anime’s flexing some serious muscle.