GKIDS, celebrating its 15th anniversary as a producer and distributor of award-winning and artist-driven animation from around the world, and globally acclaimed and industry-leading animation studio Toei Animation, announced today that THE FIRST SLAM DUNK will host its North American premiere at this year’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles. Anime Expo is the largest celebration of Japanese pop culture in North America, having hosted numerous premieres of top Japanese anime films, with regular attendance of over 100,000 attendees annually.
THE FIRST SLAM DUNK North American Premiere
Monday, July 3, 2023 – 12:00 pm Pacific
Main Events Hall – Los Angeles Convention Center
** Special Giveaway: First 2,500 guests receive a THE FIRST SLAM DUNK souvenir booklet **
THE FIRST SLAM DUNK opened domestically in Japan on December 3, 2022, and has gone on to break box office records in a number of countries during its current international release. Written and created by Takehiko Inoue, “Slam Dunk” is a beloved manga which was serialized from 1990-1996. The original manga is one of the best-selling manga series of all time, with over 170 million copies sold globally, and has been adapted to various media and video games, including a hit anime series that ran from 1993-1996. THE FIRST SLAM DUNK marks the first new feature-length film from the globally cherished franchise in over 28 years, as well as original manga creator Takehiko Inoue’s directorial debut. The film went on to be awarded this year’s Japan Academy Prize for Best Animation of the Year – marking the first nomination and win for Inoue.
GKIDS will release THE FIRST SLAM DUNK theatrically in the United States and Canada later this summer in both its original Japanese language with English subtitles and an all-new English dubbed version.
Official English Synopsis
Shohoku’s “speedster” and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure. Born and raised in Okinawa, Ryota had a brother who was three years older. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, who was a famous local player from a young age, Ryota also became addicted to basketball.
In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the Shohoku High School basketball team along with Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, and Mitsui as they take the stage at the Inter-High School National Championship. And now, they are on the brink of challenging the reigning champions, Sannoh Kogyo High School.
Official Movie Website (North America): www.slamdunkmovie.com
Follow THE FIRST SLAM DUNK on social media with hashtag #SLAMDUNKMOVIE
About GKIDS
Celebrating its 15th anniversary, GKIDS is the producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the world. The company has scored an astounding 12 Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations with The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea in 2015, Boy and the World and When Marnie Was There in 2016, My Life as a Zucchini in 2017, The Breadwinner in 2018, Mirai in 2019, and Wolfwalkers in 2021. GKIDS handles North American distribution for the famed Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world’s most coveted animation collections with titles Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and others; as well as the critically acclaimed television series, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION. Also, GKIDS is the founder and host of ANIMATION IS FILM, the annual LA-based film festival which embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form, and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of the medium to its fullest range of artistic expressions. www.gkids.com
About Toei Animation
Based in Los Angeles, Toei Animation Inc. manages the distribution of Toei Animation’s top properties, including franchise series Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, One Piece, Digimon, Saint Seiya and many others, to North America, Latin America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Toei Animation’s Los Angeles office further handles all categories of consumer product licensing based on its film and television brands within these territories. For more information, please visit
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