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Dragonball Evolution

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Dragonball Evolution

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Also known as Dragonball: Evolution

2009 film by James Wong

Film · TMDB

2.9

On his 18th birthday, Goku receives a mystical Dragonball as a gift from his grandfather. There are only six others like it in the whole world, and legend has it that whoever possesses all seven will be granted one perfect wish. When the arrival of a dark force triggers a tragedy, Goku and his companions are propelled into an epic quest to collect the seven Dragonballs and save the Earth from destruction.

Released: 2009-03-1285 minDir: James WongAction, Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, ThrillerBudget: $30.0MBox office: $58.2M

Cast

  • Justin Chatwin as Goku
  • Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi
  • Joon Park as Yamcha
  • Jamie Chung as Chi Chi
  • Emmy Rossum as Bulma
  • James Marsters as Lord Piccolo

Themes

  • martial arts
  • superhero
  • karate
  • revenge
  • dragon
  • based on manga
  • martial arts master
  • duringcreditsstinger
  • live action remake
  • dreary

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Ratings

IMDb

2.5/10

84,513 votes

Rotten Tomatoes

14%

Metacritic

45/100

Year
2009
Runtime
85 min
Genres
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Rated
PG
Awards
1 nomination total

via OMDb · IMDb

Key facts

Directed by
James Wong
Screenplay by
Ben Ramsey
Based on
Dragon Ball , by Akira Toriyama
Produced by
Stephen Chow
Starring
Justin Chatwin Emmy Rossum Jamie Chung Chow Yun-fat
Cinematography
Robert McLachlan
Edited by
Matthew Friedman Chris Willingham
Music by
Brian Tyler
Production companies
Dune Entertainment III Star Overseas
Distributed by
20th Century Fox
Release dates
March 10, 2009 ( 2009-03-10 ) (Japan, Hong Kong) April 10, 2009 ( 2009-04-10 ) (United States)
Running time
85 minutes
Countries
United States Hong Kong
Language
English
Budget
$30 million
Box office
$56.5 million

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Duration
82
FilmAffinity ID
651247
Show 5 more facts
publication date
2009-04-08
title
Dragonball Evolution
review score
45/100
capital cost
30000000
box office
9362785
Sources (15)

via Wikidata · CC0

~23 min read

Article

Dragonball Evolution is a 2009 superhero film loosely based on the 1984–95 manga series Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama. Directed by James Wong from a screenplay by Ben Ramsey, and produced by Stephen Chow, it stars Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Chow Yun-fat, Joon Park, and Eriko Tamura. In the film, the teenager Goku reveals his past and sets out to fight the evil alien warlord Demon King Piccolo who wishes to gain the powerful Dragon Balls and use them to take over Earth.

Dragonball Evolution was released in Japan and several other Asian countries on March 13, 2009, and in the United States on April 10. It grossed $56.5 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million and was considered a commercial failure. The film received generally negative reviews from critics. Dragonball Evolution was intended to be the first of a series, though its reception caused Fox to cancel all subsequent films. The film has been accused of whitewashing and has had a negative effect on future anime-to-cinema adaptations, due to its casting, lack of loyalty to the source material, and failure at the box office.

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