The Popular Franchise Strikes Again. By David Clark Dragon Ball , the Japanese franchise that brought the style of animation called anime to a mainstream form of media is releasing another feature film. Coming two years after the release of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods which grossed over $25 million domestically in Japan, the franchise is once again returning to IMAX. The new wrinkle is the latest animated film from the franchise will be available in 3D. Akira Toriyama, the man behind the franchise, is still trying to make people forget about 2009’s Dragon Ball: Evolution , a movie that cost an estimated $45 million that grossed less than $9 million in America. When Toriyama took the franchise back to the animated roots from which it came, The Battle of Gods became the fastest selling non-American released movie in 2013. While Dragon Ball is a franchise made and directed towards foreign audiences it has developed a cult following in America. With 20th Century Fox as a di