In addition to its upcoming screenings as a part of the 17th Japanese Film Festival, Madman announced this week its license of the new film Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods for the Australian market.

MADMAN ACQUIRES DRAGON BALL Z: BATTLE OF THE GODS

Madman is proud to announce the acquisition of the latest feature in the evergreen DRAGON BALL Z franchise, DRAGON BALL Z: BATTLE OF THE GODS.

DRAGON BALL Z: BATTLE OF THE GODS is the first DRAGON BALL Z movie to receive a Japanese theatrical release in 17 years, and with original manga creator, Akira Toriyama heavily involved, the first film in the series to be considered an official part of the original DRAGON BALL manga storyline.

When Birus, The God of Destruction awakes from a long slumber, he learns of the defeat of the galactic overlord Freeza by the hands of Son Goku. Seeking an opponent worthy of his power, Birus, along with his companion Uis, travels to the North Quadrant of the universe to challenge Goku to a battle.

Shooting straight to the number one spot in its opening week at the Japanese box-office, DRAGON BALL Z: BATTLE OF THE GODS took in over $7 million USD and sold over 500,000 tickets in just two days. The film has since become the fastest-grossing film of 2013 in Japan, earning a total of US$30 million [2.9 billion Yen].

One of the most beloved manga and anime brands in the world, DRAGON BALL and DRAGON BALL Z have a rich cultural history spanning two decades, significantly boosting the popularity of Japanese animation in Western culture and influencing multiple generations of fans.

In Australia, DRAGON BALL Z has enjoyed a regular television broadcast across Channel 10 and Cartoon Network and has sold in excess of one million units across DVD and VHS formats alone.

DRAGON BALL Z: BATTLE OF THE GODS will premiere at the 17th Japanese Film Festival, touring Australia Oct – Dec, 2013. For more information, visit www.japanesefilmfestival.net.

DRAGON BALL Z: BATTLE OF THE GODS will also screen in select cinemas in 2014.

Throughout the press release, Madman refers to the movie with a title of “Battle of the Gods” despite appearing directly below a promotional banner clearly outlining the title in its original “Battle of Gods” moniker. The “Birus” and “Uis” name romanizations appear to come directly from the Japanese Film Festival advertising. It rather obviously remains to be seen whether or not the title of the movie and/or further name change adaptations will make their way to whatever the final product is from Madman.

Tied in with the Japanese Film Festival, the movie will also be screened in New Zealand via Event Cinemas in October.