Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle has shattered an opening box office milestone that stood for nearly a decade, previously held by Seth Rogen. Serving as the third theatrical release in the anime franchise, the movie has already outpaced its predecessors in just its opening weekend.
In one of the most impactful box office stories of the year, Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures' Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle earned $70 million domestically during its opening weekend. Not only was it the top movie in the United States this weekend, its overperformance set a variety of records.
One of which was previously held by Seth Rogen's film Sausage Party, which opened to $34.2 million in 2016. Nine years later, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle has officially shattered the record for opening domestic weekend for an R-rated animated movie.
The R-rated animated category is rather shallow, giving future anime projects room to dominate this niche. In fact, 2021's Demon Slayer: Mugen Train jumped out to a hot start, earning over $20 million during its opening weekend on its way to 49.9 million total in the United States and Canada.
Demon Slayer's increased popularity has been proven through this latest bolt of lightning in theaters, and this is only the beginning. Demon Slayer is closing out its manga adaptation with an ambitious three-part theatrical finale.
Instead of releasing the last arc as a traditional TV season, the creators opted for films to deliver higher production quality, massive battles on a cinematic scale, and its safe to say its a success this far.
As cast member Brianna Knickerbocker (Kanao Tsuyuri) explained to The Direct, the decision made perfect sense, "it deserves a big ending:"
"'Demon Slayer' deserves no less. It's a big story, a powerful story, and it deserves a big ending."
While no date is set for part two of this three-part finale, the expectations for each sequel must now be through the roof. It's estimated to have earned around $468 million to date, with $222.2 million coming from Japan (where it opened on
July 18). It will soon surpass The Fantastic Four: First Steps' total global gross ($517.2 million) and push $600 million.
In the U.S. and Canada alone, Infinity Castle is the biggest debut ever for any international film in North America, more than doubling the previous record held by Pokémon: The First Movie.
The film also outgrossed Mugen Train's entire domestic run, and The Boy and the Heron's $46.8 million, making it the second-highest-grossing anime film of all time in the U.S. after just three days.
