Dragon Ball Movie Tier list: All Movies Ranked [2023]

27 movies from the Dragon Ball universe are ranked in this tier list, which includes some cult classics and modern day greats.

Want a walk down memory lane to all the fantastic Dragon Ball anime you watched when you were little? Or are you new to the whole anime scenario and want to find something great to watch? Dragon Ball movie Tier list will give you a fantastic ride through all movies of the Dragon Ball franchise. So grab onto the seven dragon balls and harness your dragon because you will have the journey of your life.


Key Points

  • There are a total of 27 movies in the tier list.
  • We will rank all the movies according to their storyline and combat scenes.
  • In the highest tiers, you will find movies like Dragon Ball: Super Broly, Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku, and Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks.
  • Among the lowest tiers, you will observe movies like Dragon Ball Mystical Adventure, Dragon Ball: Evolution, and Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins.

Summary

We will rank all the movies in a short table below.

S RankA RankB RankC RankD Rank
Dragon Ball: Super BrolyDragon Ball Z: Fusion RebornDragon Ball Z: Android 13Dragon Ball Z: Dead ZoneDragon Ball Mystical Adventure
Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The father of GokuDragon Ball Z: Super Broly – The Legendary Super SaiyanDragon Ball Z: Return of the CoolerDragon Ball Z: Curse of the Blood RubiesDragon Ball: Evolution
Dragon Ball Z: The History of TrunksDragon Ball: Path to PowerDragon Ball Z: Battle of the GodsDragon Ball Z: Bio – BrolyDragon Ball: Fight Son Goku, Win Son Goku
Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the DragonDragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’Dragon Ball Z: The World’s StrongestDragon Ball Z: Broly – Second ComingDragon Ball Z: Lord Slug
Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!Dragon Ball Z: Bojack unboundDragon Ball Z: The Tree of MightDragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil’s CastleDragon Ball: The Magic Begins
Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock
Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge

Learn more about each entry by reading on.

S Tier

The Best Dragon Ball Movies
S tier

S Tier contains the best Dragon Ball movies. These have exceptionally unique storylines, and the fight scenes are to die for. They keep the audience on their toes. If you are having a movie marathon and have one of these movies in your queue, your night will become filled with great action, adventure, and suspense.

It will treat you to the most fantastic sort of stuff that you haven’t seen in any film before. For an action fanatic, these are the best entertainment they can find. They earned the Dragon Ball franchise great fame with zero plot holes and the best plot.

Dragon Ball: Super Broly

This is the latest movie in the Dragon Ball franchise. It has amazing cinematics and great animation. This movie neglects the manga comics and brings Broly into the main canon of the movie. He and his father are recruited by one of the infamous villains, Freiza. In this way, he meets Vegeta and Goku. Paragus sends Broly to kill Vegeta due to his rivalry with King Vegeta.

This movie has exceptionally great combat scenes. The intense battles pit Goku and Vegeta against Broly. The backstory of Broly and the inclusion of the notorious Frieza make it a part of the S Tier and are also the reason for it being one of the best movies of the Dragon Ball. The main factor behind it being on the S Tier is because of the way it leads the franchise in a more creative direction.

Release Date December 14, 2018
Director Tatsuya Nagamine

Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The father of Goku

This Dragon Ball special movie revolves around the stone-cold, ruthless, and cold-blooded father of our beloved Goku. It gained fame due to the opposite personalities of the father and the son. The movie proved the proverb ‘Like father, like son’ Wrong to great extents. Goku is known for his morals, righteousness, and kind heart. His father imposed a great contradiction, as he is utterly opposed to his son. The apple can fall far from the tree, indeed.

A great special that did a fantastic job at the character development of Goku’s father, Bardock. They showed him as a ruthless and stone-cold human and a sympathetic and mild-hearted person by the end of the film. This specific trait of the movie puts it higher than the other films. The son and father formula has worked really well in video gaming, movies, and now even infamous animes, it is given importance, which is a welcoming sign and part of the reason it is on the S Tier.

Release Date October 17, 1990
Director Mitsuo Hashimoto

Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks

Another one of the best-written movies of the Dragon Ball series narrates a story of the future. It revolves around young Trunks and Gohan, who has seen the misery of the war. They are the only ones who are able to keep the Androids at bay and stop them from causing destruction. Each time these two powerful Saiyans try to combat Android 17 and 18, desperation and distress arise among them. This creates a unique character in the movie special.

Great screenplay and an amazing plot, along with the display of an amicable relationship between Gohan and Trunks, make this movie one of the most beloved and famous among DBZ fans, Trunk was a great character whose development on the screen was much needed, and with this movie, it was delivered. For this reason, it is part of our S tier.

Release Date February 24, 1993
Director Yoshihiro Ueda

Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon

In this Dragon Ball special, the Z-fighters take the help of Hoi to free a monster trapped inside a music box. Hoi was not willing to let go Trapion. But, eventually, he gave up and freed him. Then Trapion helps the Z-fighters fight off the danger. This special debut of the Dragon Ball has the most unique and rare plot. Firstly, it introduced a non-violent character, Trapion, who is not seen after this.

Trapion became a favorite character of many DBZ fans and they loved his personality. This kept the movie high above other movies, in the s tier. Trapion was the legendary hero summoned by Goku to fight off the terror.

Contrary to other films, the main Z-fighters weren’t the main focus of the plot. In fact, they stayed on the sidewalk of the movie thus the movie how gave importance to the bad guys and gave Dragon Ball fans a new perception that makes it special. it is more like how for some Joker is more loved than Batman himself.

Release Date July 15, 1995
Director Mitsuo Hashimoto

Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!

This spectacular masterpiece of the Dragon Ball series has an inspiring storyline. Goku and Vegeta’s families are invited by Mr. Satan to his hotel. Where a couple of Saiyan spaceships appear, this movie introduces a new character, Tarble, who is the long-lost brother of Vegeta. Tarble begs for help to fight against Abo and Kado, who have wreaked mayhem on his home planet. Later on, Abo and Kado land on Earth, and the Z-fighters join together to fight these scoundrels off of their native homeland.

In another movie, another new character turns out to be the brother of our precious Vegeta. This new character instantly won the hearts of the viewers and gave it a spot on our S Tier. The storyline is unique and has great fight scenes and dialogues.

Release Date September 21, 2008
Director  Yoshihiro Ueda

Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock

It is a what-if spin-off sequel to ‘ Dragon Ball: Bardock – The Father of Goku’. In this movie special, Bardock finds himself back in time on Planet Plant, which he recalls as the old name of Planet Vegeta. Bardock combats Chilled, a villain who resembles Freiza in more than his looks but also his ruthless core. The dying Chilled makes people aware of the powerful Super Saiyans. At the present time, Frieza destroys Planet Vegeta, fearing the Super Saiyans.

The episode of Bardock was a treat for the DBZ fandom, who loved the plot of time travel and absolutely abhorred the newly introduced villain, Chilled. Their hatred for Freiza got combined with the hatred of Chilled, and all this earned great fame for the movie and reserved a slot for it in the S Tier.

Release Date December 17, 2011
Director Yoshihiro Ueda

Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge

This movie is set after the defeat of Frieza in Namek. When news of his brothers’ loss reached Cooler, he gets red with fury. He oaths to kill Goku at all costs. During this, Goku and Gohan had gone on an excursion to blow off some steam. There they are met with Cooler, who takes revenge for the defeat of Frieza. Goku extracts great strength from his core to fight off an enemy way much stronger than all the enemies he has fought before.

This movie is considered to be one of the best DBZ movies. It introduces a new villain who is powerful and undefeatable. The character development in this cinematic workmanship is truly applaudable. Even the soundtrack chosen for this masterpiece gets a man to groove to the beat. All these traits include in the s tier.

Release Date July 20, 1991
Director Mitsuo Hashimoto

A Tier

The Second Best Dragon Ball Movies
A tier

A Tier has the Dragon Ball movies that have an amazing storyline that is intriguing and suspenseful. The only thing they lack is mainly a few fight scenes. Otherwise, these movies may as well be in the S Tier.

Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn

DBZ series introduces this movie with the scene of the Otherworld, where an oni neglects his work and causes an explosion of the cleansing machine and, as a result, turns into a child-like demon named Janemba. Goku and Vegeta fought a one-on-one battle with the demon, but they failed miserably. In the end, they realize that the only option to fight off this grotesque creature is fusion. Hence, after the fusion, they become able to combat this otherworldly creature.

This movie has out-of-the-world animation and an extraordinary script. The main reason for it being in the A Tier is that Hilter is the only human who came to life and wasn’t a zombie. Additionally, the humans who turned into zombies looked far from zombies.

Release Date March 4, 1995
Director Shigeyasu Yamauchi

Dragon Ball Z: Super Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan

After the destruction of Planet Vegeta, the sole survivors of the Planet persuade Vegeta to renounce his role as the ruler and King of the Planet. When he lands on his planet, he discovers the underlying motives of the Super Saiyans. They aim to dominate all the other planets and rule them. To stop them, he has to stop Broly, for that purpose, he and the Z-fighters combat the legendary Super Saiyan, Broly.

In addition to the DBZ series, this worth-watching movie is applaudable. But, the tense buildup lasts only for two-thirds of the film. Other than that the movie seemed kinda blunt, which keeps it a little down on the tier list, A tier. But the interesting storyline and suspenseful fight scenes are always appreciated in DMZ movies.

Release Date March 6, 1993
Director Shigeyasu Yamauchi

Dragon Ball: Path to Power

It is the retelling of the Dragon Ball anime series. Goku and his friends, along with a strange young girl set off on a journey to find the dragon balls spread out in the world. During this, they struggle to fight the Red Ribbon army.

This movie is fun and light to watch. It recounts the story of the series and is very fast-paced it helps people catch up to the series. This is in the A Tier because it misses out on some significant moments of the series, which held a golden spot in the original anime series.

Release Date March 2, 1996
Director Shigeyasu Yamauchi

Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’

Resurrection ‘F’ brought Frieza back from the dead, which awakened the intrigue back in people who had a love-and-hate relationship with the powerful villain. Frieza’s followers and companions wished him back from the dead. After gaining his full strength, he lands on Earth to fight some stupendous battles.

The battle scenes of this film are quite impressive. The start of the movie is very slow, and the viewers tend to get bored, as they lose a bit of interest, which causes the movie to find a place on the A Tier. But after his arrival on Earth, the film gains back its groove.

Release Date April 18, 2015
Director Tadayoshi Yamamuro

Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound

Bojack Unbound starts off with the Z-fighters fighting in the martial arts tournament hosted by a well-off family. The tournaments get taken over by powerful aliens who aim to end the Super Saiyans.

The death of Goku while saving his son, Gohan, decreased the interest of the audience, and hence it was unable to get a place in the S Tier and slid down to the A tier. The combat scenes and the effortless martial arts in this exclusive make it better than the others.

Release Date July 10, 1993
Director Yoshihiro Ueda

Plan to destroy the Saiya-Jin

Dr. Raichi, a deported villain of Planet Vegeta, makes an appearance. His main aim is to destroy every Super Saiyan insight. For this purpose, he sets Destron gas emitters to kill the population. The Z-fighters destroy his plans, as well as, win against him.

Even though this movie special has some inspiring plot traits. But, the fight scenes are very scarce. The DBZ fandom couldn’t get enough fight scenes in this so it couldn’t score a place in the S Tier, Instead situated in the A tier.

Release Date August 6, 1993
Director Shigeyasu Yamauchi

B Tier

Average Dragon Ball Movies
B tier

B Tier, a ranking below the best. The movies are captivating, and when started, the viewer can’t get enough of them. But they have a few plot holes to put them on a lower rung.

Dragon Ball Z: Android 13

A movie that mainly revolves around the androids is under consideration here. Android 17 and 18 kill off Doctor Grero. His death leads to a series of events that causes the activation of androids 13 14 at 15. The main motive of the newly activated androids is to finish the Z fighters. With an aim to destroy these androids, Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Trunks, Piccolo, and Vegeta form a combatting group to save the planet Earth.

Android movies are least liked in the DBZ series, and in this movie, we are mainly shown the androids fighting with the Z fighters. Although, great scenes with suspenseful action were shown to the audience, which kept them on their toes throughout the movie, which earned this a higher rank on the B tier. The innovative approach of androids in such a backward time confused as well as intrigued the people, which earned this a slot in the B Tier.

Release Date July 11, 1992
Director Kazuhito Kikuchi

Dragon Ball Z: Return of the Cooler

The revival of Cooler is the main event that occurs in the film. The movie starts off with Namek being invaded by a huge army of trained robots who wreak havoc and chaos on the planet. The guardian of Earth calls out to the Z fighters to come and help the people of Namek. When they reach Namek, they are surprised to find Cooler in action while leading the army of robots. They fight and combat the back-to-life villain, who was abhorred and loved by the audience.

This movie is a cinematic masterpiece with its amazing fighting choreography and huge mind-twisting plot twists that leave a man dumbstruck. The only thing wrong with this film is that the last combat, which is considered the main event, is a bit more underwhelming than a person expects. The movie usually builds up to the final battle, but in this case, it left the people unsatisfied and disappointed. Hence, it is in the B Tier.

Release Date March 7, 1992
Director Daisuke Nishio

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods

The battle of the gods concerns the God of destruction, Lord Beerus. The God awakens after centuries-long slumber and finds out that Frieza has been killed by Goku. In his wraith, he fights Goku and wins effortlessly. This is because only a God can win against a God, and none of the Super Saiyans were Gods. In the end, it’s all up to the Super Saiyans to destroy God before they lose everything.

An overly exaggerated film with a great sense of humor and fantastic, mystical combat scenes earns this movie a significant place in the B Tier. This movie had some flaws in the plot, which couldn’t earn this a place in the A or S Tier.

Release Date March 30, 2013
Director Masahiro Hosoda

Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest

Dragon Ball Z, the World’s strongest is a pretty good movie. Doctor Wheelo is resurrected after his death during an avalanche. Dr. Kochin, the resurrection, and Dr. Wheelo, both of these evil doctors, set out on a mission to destroy the planet. The Z-fighters come together to fight off these inhumane doctors.

The storyline of this movie is very interesting, and as with all movies, it is very fast-paced. The wrong thing with this film is the soundtrack that causes a person to shudder under its effect. Other than that, the movie is a good experience and belongs in the B tier.

Release Date March 10, 1990
Director Daisuke Nishio

Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might

The tree of Might is a movie that walls around the androids. The androids hold a special place in the DBZ movies. They are great villains of the Z fighters. On this day, busy special, the Z fighters embark on a mission to find the Megamind who invented the androids. That androids have one mission in mind which is 2 kill Goku.

Even though there are many movies with androids in the DBZ but they are least liked by the fans. This is because they aim to see some fight scenes, but the fight scenes concerning the androids and the Z fighters aren’t much intriguing or interesting so, this movie is located in the B Tier.

Other than that, the movie has a good plot end great character development as well as out-of-the-world animation. let’s get down to the next tier in the Dragon Ball movie Tier list.

Release Date July 7, 1990
Director Daisuke Nishio

C Tier

Dragon Ball Movie Tier List
C tier

C Tier has an average-ranked movie. They have a lot of plot holes, and add to the misery are a bit of a yawn. You might find yourself dozing off during these specials.

Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone

Another entertaining yet problematic Dragon Ball Z movie in which Goku tries to stop garlic junior as he tries to find the seven dragon balls to become eternal. During this, Goku also saves his infant son Gohan.

In this special, the villains are not so terrifying, and it doesn’t really fit the timeline of Dragon Ball Z. Even though it is set before the TV series, it is still a bit absurd. But still, a fast-paced and exciting storyline keeps it in the C Tier.

Release Date July 15, 1989
Director  Daisuke Nishio

Dragon Ball Z: Curse of the Blood Rubies

Alternative storyline to the original Dragon Ball series, in this Gourmeth, cursed by the blood rubies, searches for the dragon balls. Goku and his friends, also known as the Z-fighters, cure his curse and gain access to the dragon balls.

Even though this movie had a somewhat good storyline, it had the exact lines and dialogues from the first season of the TV series. It seemed an edited version of the TV series and was totally pointless, this caused it to be in the C tier.

Release Date December 20, 1986
Director  Daisuke Nishio

Dragon Ball Z: Bio – Broly

Dragon Ball Z movie by Broly is another one-off astonishing movie. Mr. Jaguar creates a clone of Broly whose main focus it’s true to unveil the fraud of Mr. Satan. Do the fighters engage in combat with the bio Broly to defeat his motives?

This movie is over-exaggerated, and the concept of bio-broly it’s way off. The fight scenes are to die for, but they are a little less than a fan expects.

Release Date July 9, 1994
Director  Yoshihiro Ueda

Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming

Another Broly movie comes forth through this special, where great fights unleash, and the destruction of their strong nemesis occurs. The movie opens with the fight of Broly in space. After losing, his pod reaches Earth, and he goes into a comatose state. When he awakens, Gohan, Goten, and the other Z fighters struggle to fight the Super Saiyan and defeat him effortlessly.

Even though Broly is one of the favorite villains of all time in the DMZ series but this specific movie adds some drawbacks, which pushed it down to the seat, dear. Another death of Goku and the almost-losing battle with Broly stole the charisma of the film, including it in the C tier.

Release Date March 12, 1994
Director Shigeyasu Yamauchi

Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil’s Castle

This fascinating masterpiece of the DBZ film series it’s set in Goku’s childhood period. In his childhood, along with his friend, Krillin, he lures  Master Roshi in two, training both of them. But the master has other plans for the children. He agrees to train in martial arts if, and only if, they were able to rescue the Princess from the devil’s castle, which is guarded by Count Lucifer.

The storyline is quite captivating of the film, but like many others, it does not fit into the timeline of the DBZ series. The fighting of Goku and Krillin with Count Lucifer is the only thing that saves it from being in the D Tier and hence is in the C tier.

Release Date July 18, 1987
Director  Daisuke Nishio

D Tier

Dragon Ball Movie Tier List
D tier

The D Tier of the Dragon Ball movie Tier list is the lowest of all the tiers. The movies included in this are absolutely pointless and don’t even follow the timeline. They are dull and drab, and it’s better to avoid them at all costs.

Dragon Ball Mystical Adventure

In this Side Story, Goku and Krillin find the seven dragon balls to help the emperor find his missing wife.

This movie is not connected to the original Dragon Ball series and doesn’t match the main plot in some aspects. All these errors make it, probably, the worst Dragon Ball movie and a part of the D tier.

Release Date  July 9, 1988
Director  Kazuhisa Takenouchi

Dragon Ball: Evolution

In a live-action remaking of the Dragon Ball,  Goku collects the dragon balls before King Piccolo to fulfill the wish of his dying grandfather.

With its 2.5 ratings, one can say it is pretty bad, but despite that watched it for you, and our verdict is that this movie fails to convey its story on so many levels that it created a gap between the audience and the movie. Hence, it is located in the D tier.

Release Date  April 10, 2009
Director James Wong

Dragon Ball: Fight Son Goku, Win Son Goku

An unofficial and unlicensed narration of the famous Dragon Ball mangas, in which a young boy Goku fights evil while searching for the dragon orbs.

This is a ridiculous and stupid illustration of the series. It is a copy of the original series, but it seems a satire and a parody of the series, and rightfully so; we have put it on the last tier.

Release Date  December 12, 1990
Director Wang Ryong

Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug

Lord Slug is introduced in this special. Goku Gohan and the other Z warriors fight this powerful super Saiyan in order to defeat him, so they can protect Planet Earth.

This movie seems off the line of the main plot. It seems unnecessary and pointless. But DBZ fight scenes are always the golden hour of the movies. This movie, like many other movies, seems like an extended episode rather than a movie.

Release Date  March 19, 1991
Director  Mitsuo Hashimoto

Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins

Chinese depiction of the original Japanese manga, in which a group of youngsters set off on a journey to find the 7 dragon orbs while fighting off evil villains. Yet again, it is a copy that fails to describe the importance of the main events that occurred in the series, and hence it is included in the D tier.

Release Date 1991 
Director Chun-Liang Chen

Comparison Table

MovieTierRelease DateDirector
Dragon Ball: Super BrolySDecember 14, 2018Tatsuya Nagamine
Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The father of GokuSOctober 17, 1990Mitsuo Hashimoto
Dragon Ball Z: The History of TrunksSFebruary 24, 1993Yoshihiro Ueda
Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the DragonSJuly 15, 1995Mitsuo Hashimoto
Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!SSeptember 21, 2008Yoshihiro Ueda
Dragon Ball: Episode of BardockSDecember 17, 2011Yoshihiro Ueda
Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s RevengeSJuly 20, 1991Mitsuo Hashimoto
Dragon Ball Z: Fusion RebornAMarch 4, 1995Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Dragon Ball Z: Super Broly – The Legendary Super SaiyanAMarch 6, 1993Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Dragon Ball: Path to PowerAMarch 2, 1996Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’AApril 18, 2015Tadayoshi Yamamuro
Dragon Ball Z: Bojack unboundAJuly 10, 1993Yoshihiro Ueda
Plan to destroy the Saiya-JinAAugust 6, 1993Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Dragon Ball Z: Android 13BJuly 11, 1992Kazuhito Kikuchi
Dragon Ball Z: Return of the CoolerBMarch 7, 1992
Daisuke Nishio
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the GodsBMarch 30, 2013Masahiro Hosoda
Dragon Ball Z: The World’s StrongestBMarch 10, 1990Daisuke Nishio
Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of MightBJuly 7, 1990Daisuke Nishio
Dragon Ball Z: Dead ZoneCJuly 15, 1989Daisuke Nishio
Dragon Ball Z: Curse of the Blood RubiesCDecember 20, 1986Daisuke Nishio
Dragon Ball Z: Bio – BrolyCJuly 9, 1994Yoshihiro Ueda
Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second ComingCMarch 12, 1994Shigeyasu Yamauchi
Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil’s CastleCJuly 18, 1987Daisuke Nishio
Dragon Ball Mystical AdventureDJuly 9, 1988Kazuhisa Takenouchi
Dragon Ball: EvolutionDApril 10, 2009James Wong
Dragon Ball: Fight Son Goku, Win Son GokuDDecember 12, 1990Wang Ryong
Dragon Ball Z: Lord SlugDMarch 19, 1991Mitsuo Hashimoto
Dragon Ball: The Magic BeginsD1991 Chun-Liang Chen

Verdict

The Dragon Ball movie Tier list includes almost all of the movies that were produced with this name. The movies with the best storyline and exceptionally great combat scenes are kept under the S Tier, like Dragon Ball: Super Broly, Bardock- the father of Goku. Movies that had a bit of a yawn but still were interesting are seen in the A-Tier, such as Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn and The Path to Power.

The movies that were dragged a bit with fewer fight scenes are located in the B Tier. In the D tier, the worst of the worst films are founds which are better to be kept at a distance from the television screen. Dragon Ball franchise is a great movie and series-making franchise, that holds the power of the greatest fight scenes and a good sense of humor in its production.

Up Next: Dragon Ball Z Movie Bosses Tier List