THE FIRST SLAM DUNK: Re-release in Spring 2027

THE FIRST SLAM DUNK returns to cinemas nationwide across Japan in spring 2027. Under the title "THE FIRST SLAM DUNK 2027 in cinema," the anime film will run from March 20 to April 1, 2027. The official website announced the re-release on August 29; Anime!Anime! picked up the news on August 31.

Which cinemas will take part in the campaign and what the exact screening schedule looks like is not yet certain. According to the official film website, these details will follow at a later date. A re-release outside Japan has not been announced in the sources reviewed.

The film returns to the big screen

THE FIRST SLAM DUNK is based on Takehiko Inoue's basketball manga "SLAM DUNK." Inoue wrote the screenplay and directed the film himself. The theatrical film originally premiered in Japan on December 3, 2022, and tells the decisive Interhigh match between Shohoku High School and Sannoh Kogyo from the perspective of Ryota Miyagi.

As Anime!Anime! reports, after its original release the film ran in Japanese cinemas for an extended period until August 2023 and has since returned several times for limited re-screenings. The outlet cites a cumulative box office of 16.67 billion yen in Japan. Most recently, THE FIRST SLAM DUNK was shown free of charge at Meiji Park in Tokyo on August 29 and 30, 2026.

The new campaign thus follows the pattern of earlier return dates, but this time it is directly announced as a nationwide theatrical run lasting just under two weeks. The published visual bears the inscription "THE FIRST SLAM DUNK 2027 in cinema" and gives the period from March 20 to April 1.

Further sports anime are already announced for cinemas in 2027. For example, the first theatrical film of "Medalist" opens in Japan on February 19, 2027. For THE FIRST SLAM DUNK, it remains initially open whether the re-release will later also be taken up internationally.