Peace has returned to Earth following the battle with God of Destruction Beerus in the previous movie. With their power dwindling due to the absence of their leader, the remnants of Frieza's army are led by an alien named Sorbet, who decides to revive their master. He then sets off to Earth with one other minion, Tagoma, where they convince Emperor Pilaf, Mai, and Shu, who have collected the Dragon Balls to let them summon Shenron instead. As Shenron is unable to fully revive Frieza, he brings him back to life in pieces, and his minions put him together using their advanced technology. As soon as Frieza's body is regenerated, he emerges in his first form and announces to his soldiers that he will not be satisfied until Goku and Future Trunks have both been killed. Tagoma suggests to Frieza that he should just ignore Goku and the other Saiyans. Frieza, irritated, kills Tagoma with a quick Ki blast. Sorbet informs Frieza that they haven't been able to locate Future Trunks in all this time and that Goku's power has surpassed that of even Majin Buu, which is far more than Frieza could have ever imagined. But due to him being a prodigy, Frieza states that through several months of serious training, he will be able to unlock his dormant power and would be able to wipe out the Saiyans in the blink of an eye.
Jaco the Galactic Patrolman travels to Earth to warn Bulma that Frieza is approaching. In response, Bulma tries to contact Whis by sending him a message and also gathers the Z Fighters in order to fight Frieza. Gohan doesn't tell Goten and Trunks about the fight, because he feels they might do something rash. Yamcha and Chiaotzu (who sensed Frieza's revival earlier) are asked by Tien to stay away from the fight as he fears that Frieza's new power may be too dangerous for them to handle. Majin Buu is also absent, for he is in a deep sleep. Goku and Vegeta are training on Beerus' planet with Whis, unaware that Frieza has been revived.
Gohan, Piccolo, Tien, Jaco, Krillin, and Master Roshi clash with an army of at least a thousand of Frieza's soldiers, led by Shisami. Frieza's power in his first form is said to be in a different league than the Z Fighters present on Earth, for he was able to knock out Gohan with a single blow to the stomach.
Bulma's message eventually reaches Whis, and Goku and Vegeta travel back to earth to fight Frieza. Whis and Beerus join them in order to eat a strawberry-flavored dessert Bulma has prepared for them. Goku fights Frieza in his new "Saiyan beyond God" state where Frieza can barely keep at full power in his fourth form. Goku then transforms into Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan and Frieza transforms into a new "Golden Frieza" form. After Frieza's power drops immenesly due to the fact that he didn't get used to his new form, Goku ultimately gains the upper hand, but when he inevitably defeats Frieza he is blasted in the chest by Sorbet leaving him terribly wounded. Frieza stands over the nearly incapacitated Goku and offers Vegeta a chance to kill Goku for him in exchange for his own life. Vegeta refuses and transforms into a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan as well, much to Frieza's shock. Vegeta tells Krillin to revive Goku with a Senzu bean. As the latter moves to do so, Frieza attacks him, but Vegeta intercepts and deflects Frieza's attack towards Sorbet, which kills him. Vegeta attacks Frieza, eventually causing him to revert to his fourth form, who then realizes that he cannot win. Frieza decides to destroy the planet, killing Vegeta in the process.
Earth is destroyed, but Whis manages to save himself, Beerus, Bulma, Krillin, Gohan, Goku, Master Roshi, Piccolo, Tien and Jaco by creating a small bubble around themselves. While Bulma despairs, Goku expresses his regret that he didn't kill Frieza when he had the chance. Whis tells him that he has the power to set back time but only three minutes into the past. He does so, and they arrive back right before Frieza destroys the Earth. Goku immediately attacks with a God Kamehameha and kills Frieza. Once Frieza returns to Hell, he is mocked by the Angels of Hell, who greet him back home.
