Pokémon: The First Movie lost its 26-year-old box office record

Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back, the first feature-length animated film in the Pokémon franchise, has been surpassed at the box office 26 years after its release.

Japanese revenue ranking website Oricon has just announced that for the first time in 26 years, Pokémon: The First Movie has been dropped from the Top 100 Highest-grossing Movies of all time. For more than two decades, the first Pokémon anime film has comfortably cracked the top 100 with sales of over 7.24 billion yen. However, this financial record has now been surpassed by Haikyuu!! Battle of the Garbage Dump, causing the old game to be completely removed from the top 100 rankings.

Liko's Sprigatito from Pokémon Horizons debuts in red and purple

Fans of the Pokémon Horizons anime can now add Sprigatito, Liko's adorable partner, to their team roster in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Haikyuu!! The battle of the landfill made box office history, bringing down Pokémon

Released in Japan on February 16, Haikyuu!! Battle of the Landfill earned over 890 million yen on its opening day. According to Box Office Mojo, Battle of the Garbage Dump has grossed more than $47 million since its release. The film serves as a two-part stage adaptation of the final chapters of Haikyuu!! manga by Haruichi Furudate. Currently, there is no expected release date for the second Haikyuu!! an anime movie, but Battle of the Garbage Dump provides the perfect backdrop for the animated ending.

Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back was a critical flop but a success at the box office

While there is no shortage of animated Pokémon films, Mewtwo Strikes Back was the first of its kind and premiered in 1998, at the height of the Pokémon phenomenon. While North American critics panned the film, Mewtwo Strikes Back was a major box office success, grossing $10 million on its opening day. The former was the only anime film to reach the top 10 box office in the US until Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train released in 2021. CG-animated remake, Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back — Evolution, was released in 2019 and is currently available to stream on Netflix.

The Pokémon Company has not ruled out returning Ash Ketchum

While Pokémon Horizons: The Series stars a new group of anime heroes, The Pokémon Company hasn't ruled out a future appearance from OG hero Ash Ketchum.

Pokémon Horizons Season 1 is now available to stream on Netflix. The official Pokémon manga is currently on hiatus due to its author's sudden illness. A new Pokémon Legends game, Pokémon Legends: ZA, will be released on Nintendo Switch in 2025.