Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle enjoyed a record-breaking weekend after debuting in North America last Friday. The popular film, which is based on the “Infinity Castle” arc of the 2016–20 manga series, hauled in an estimated $70 million from just over 3,300 theaters. That’s the best ever opening for an anime title, surpassing Pokemon: The First Movie, which grossed $31 million on its opening weekend back in 1999.
The Unpredictability of the Box Office
“This performance by this particular film shows the unpredictability of the box office,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends at Comscore. “If we were sitting here, let’s say a month or even a couple of weeks ago, would we be thinking, ‘Wow, a Japanese anime film would be number one at the box office, overperform and bring in $70 million?’ If you predicted that, kudos to you.”
It’s the first film of a three-part cinematic finale to the highly acclaimed anime shonen series. The hugely popular manga by Koyoharu Gotouge, which first came out in 2016, begins with Tanjiro joining the Demon Slayer Corps so he can turn his sister Nezuko back into a human. In Infinity Castle, the story picks up where the “Hashira Training Arc” — the fourth season of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — left off.
Directed by Haruo Sotozaki, the movie follows Tanjiro and the Demon Slayer Corps as they are drawn into the Infinity Castle where they come face-to-face with the terrifying Upper Rank demons. It builds up to a final confrontation with the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji. The film, which features theme songs performed by Aimer and LiSA, was first released by Aniplex and Toho in Japan two months ago to favorable reviews.
Infinity Castle: Japan’s Second-Highest Grossing Film
On its opening day, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle earned ¥1.64 billion (US$11.11 million) with 1.15 million admissions. That was the highest opening day gross in Japanese box office history. In the first three days, it grossed ¥5.52 billion (US$37.42 million) from 3.84 million admissions, making it the biggest opening weekend of all time in Japanese cinema.
It’s now the second-highest grossing film ever in Japan, behind Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train.
