Demon SlayerThe Movie: Mugen Traindebuted in Japan with a record-breaking $44 million, granting the anime film the honor of havingthe biggest opening in the country’s history. Now,Demon Slayer The Moviehas set the record for the second-biggest weekend in Japanese box office history with a total gross of over 10 billion yen.
Demon Slayer The Moviecrossed the 10 billion yen mark, approximately US$95 million, after just ten days of playing in theaters across Japan, making it the fastest film to do so. According to the film’s official Twitter account,Demon Slayerearned1.509 billion yen (US$14.3 million) from 1.12 million viewers Saturday and an additional 1.540 billion yen (US$14.6 million) from 1.16 million people on Sunday. With a second-weekend total of 3.135 billion yen, or US$29.8 million,Demon Slayernow claims the records for the best weekend, the second-best weekend, and the best second weekend at the Japanese box office.
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By crossing the 10 billion yen mark faster than any other film in Japanese box office history,Demon Slayerbested the previous record held byHayao Miyazaki’sSpirited Away. Released 19 years ago,Spirited Awayreached 10 billion yen in 25 days while fellow Japanese filmsYour NameandWeathering With Youreached the milestone in 28 and 34 days, respectively. With no competition in Japan for nearly a month,Demon Slayerreportedly has the potential to outgrossSpirited Away’s overall total of 30.8 billion yen and become country’s the highest-grossing film.Demon Slayeris also slated for release in Taiwan on October 30 before arriving in North America next year.
TheDemon Slayer franchise originated as a manga series by Koyoharu Gotōge before being adapted as an anime television series.Mugen Trainserves as a direct sequel to the series and follows Tanjiro Kamad and the Demon Slayer Corps as they investigate a series of mysterious disappearances on board the Infinity Train. Anticipation forDemon Slayer The Moviehad been so high in Japan that TOHO cinemas announced it waslifting capacity limitations on all of its theatersduring the film’s opening weekend.
The box office success ofDemon Slayeris a positive sign for upcoming anime films, includingPretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie. The two-part film was originally scheduled to debut in theaters in September, but the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in therelease date being pushed back to January and February2021.
TheDemon Slayerfranchise is also expanding into video games, witha new project being developed by CyberConnect2. Scheduled for release in 2021, theDemon Slayergame will be available for the PlayStation 4.
Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Trainwill be released in theaters in North America in 2021.
