Crunchyroll Acquires Select Global Theatrical Rights and Announces North American Date for Highly Anticipated Sports Anime Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle at Cinemacon

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the popular series, the highly anticipated volleyball film HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle will continue the battle between fan-favorite rivals Karasuno and Nekoma

Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment set to bring the film to theaters in North America on May 31, 2024

Culver City, California (April 9, 2024) – Crunchyroll, the ultimate home for anime worldwide, announced today at CinemaCon that it has acquired the North American and select international theatrical rights for HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle, based on the beloved volleyball series HAIKYU!! Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment are set to spike the film into North American theaters beginning on May 31, 2024. The film will be available in both Japanese with English subtitles as well as dubbed in English.

Additional international theatrical release dates for the film include:

● May 30: Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland (Italian-speaking), Netherlands, Argentina, Brazil, Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama), Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru
● May 31: Canada, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States
● June 7: Turkey
● June 12: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland (French-speaking)
● June 25: Austria, Germany
● June 27: Switzerland (German-speaking)

As of March 29, the film has earned over 8.5 billion yen (~$57 million USD) since opening in Japan on February 16, making it the highest-grossing movie of the Japanese box office calendar year to date.

Official Film Synopsis:
Shoyo Hinata joins Karasuno High's volleyball club to be like his idol, a former Karasuno player known as the “Little Giant.” But, Hinata soon finds that he must team up with his middle school nemesis, Tobio Kageyama. Their clashing styles turn into a surprising weapon, but can they beat their rival Nekoma High in the highly anticipated “Dumpster Battle,” the long awaited ultimate showdown between two opposing underdog teams?

Credits: Directed and screenplay by Susumu Mitsunaka. Original story by Haruichi Furudate. Produced by Production I.G Run time: 85 minutes.

About the HAIKYU!! franchise:
Based on the original Weekly Shonen Jump manga series from Haruichi Furudate, HAIKYU!! is a slice-of-life sports anime revolving around Shoyo Hinata's love of volleyball. Inspired by a small-statured player known as the “Little Giant,” Hinata creates a team in his last year of middle school. His team is unfortunately matched up against "King of the Court'' Tobio Kageyama's team in their first tournament, inevitably losing.

After the crushing defeat, Hinata vows to surpass Kageyama. Entering high school, he joins the volleyball team only to find that Tobio has also joined, making his once rival his new teammate. The anime series HAIKYU!! is produced by TOHO animation.

The first four seasons of HAIKYU!! are currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.

About Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll, LLC is an independently operated joint venture between US-based Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Japan's Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group.

Films distributed and marketed by Crunchyroll – domestically and internationally – have a proven track record of both box office and critical success. Not only have Crunchyroll films seen box office success, but have also been recognized with numerous awards accolades and been accepted and screened at international film festivals around the globe.