Sports anime film The First Slam Dunk is heading to theaters in North America this summer thanks to distributor GKIDS, and Anime Expo will be the host for its North American premiere.

Announced today, the film will premiere on Monday, July 3rd starting at 12 p.m. in the Main Events Hall at the popular anime convention. All attendees of the convention are invited to the event. The first 2,500 guests will gain a special souvenir booklet. The screening will feature the original Japanese audio with English subtitles.

The First Slam Dunk, which is produced by Toei Animation, is the first anime film in the Slam Dunk franchise in 28 years. Based on Takehiko Inoue’s manga of the same name, Slam Dunk focuses on a basketball team from Shōhoku High School. An anime TV series debuted in 1993 with four anime films being released during its run.

A synopsis for The First Slam Dunk, which is written and directed by Inoue, reads:

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.

GKIDS will release the film in both subbed and dubbed versions. Released back in December in Japan, The First Slam Dunk won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year and became the fifth highest grossing anime film ever with theatrical earnings of $258.5 million.

Badges for Anime Expo 2023 are on sale to the general public right now here. Anime Expo will take place from July 1 through July 4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Check out our review and photos from last year’s event here. Catch previous news updates on Anime Expo 2023 here.