Dragon Ball has been the financial ruler of Toei Animation for several decades. With its massive success, this legendary anime franchise helped the global growth of the studio through anime, video games, films, merchandise, and much more. Even years after its original release, Dragon Ball remains one of Toei Animation’s biggest revenue generators. However, in 2026, Dragon Ball’s position is finally overtaken by One Piece.
Toei Animation’s latest annual reports, up to March 2026, showed that Eiichiro Oda’s pirate epic had taken the first place among all other IPs belonging to Toei Animation in terms of revenue. The Egghead arc, overseas licensing, and the worldwide surge of popularity of One Piece as a whole were the probable key factors behind this incredible achievement.
One Piece Crushes Dragon Ball in Toei’s 2026 Revenue Rankings
According to Toei Animation’s annual financial report of 2026, One Piece earned about 27.84 billion yen ($175.4 million), and Dragon Ball earned about 20.8 billion yen ($131.1 million).
The biggest difference came from the performance of the franchises in the international market, where One Piece took most of the share in the Overseas Licensing category, making about 12.49 billion yen ($78.7 million) against Dragon Ball‘s 11.33 billion yen ($71.4 million).
Even inside Japan, One Piece came out on top, beating Dragon Ball by a small margin, with One Piece taking around 5.13 billion yen ($32.3 million) against Dragon Ball‘s 5.08 billion yen ($32.0 million).
Apart from that, One Piece took the greater percentage of revenue in the Overseas Film category as well, recording 10.2 billion yen against Dragon Ball‘s 4.38 billion yen.
Why One Piece‘s Global Momentum Is Growing Faster
The first and foremost factor for such a change is the growing popularity all over the world due to recent final saga arcs of One Piece, like the Egghead or the Elbaf Arc. Its anime adaptation continues to gain great attention among international audiences, including people from Europe and North America. Meanwhile, merchandising and the One Piece Card Game keep expanding all over the world.
Additionally, the recent Netflix live-action adaptation of One Piece also boosted its overall global popularity even among mainstream audiences.
On the other hand, while the Dragon Ball franchise still remains one of the best-known series in anime history, Dragon Ball has not been very active lately after the release of Dragon Ball Daima, since there has been no popular and lengthy anime series released on a weekly basis.
That said, the company still has some significant plans related to its next projects regarding Dragon Ball Super. Hence, if those adaptations become popular enough, Goku may regain his throne again. However, right now, Monkey D. Luffy is undoubtedly the king of Toei Animation.
| Category | One Piece | Dragon Ball |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Eiichiro Oda | Akira Toriyama |
| Manga Release Year | 1997 | 1984 |
| Anime Release Year | 1999 | 1986 |
| Latest Toei FY2026 Revenue | 27.84 Billion Yen | 20.8 Billion Yen |
| Where to Watch | Crunchyroll, Netflix | Crunchyroll, Hulu |
Here are some of the questions fans may have –
Why did One Piece beat Dragon Ball in Toei’s ranking?
The popularity of One Piece in the worldwide ranking was due to the success of the Egghead arc, the popularity of One Piece Card Game, streaming growth, and the overall popularity growth due to the final saga storyline and live-action adaptations.
What is the income of One Piece in Toei’s 2026 annual report?
One Piece earned approximately 27.84 billion yen according to Toei Animation’s annual report for the fiscal year 2026.
Will Dragon Ball be able to beat One Piece in the future?
Absolutely. The upcoming project on Dragon Ball Super and future anime will definitely increase its revenue around the world.
Now the big question – Which franchise do you think will rule the anime industry over the next decade? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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