‘Demon Slayer’ first Japanese movie to top ¥40 billion and becomes the No. 2 anime film of all time in U.S. box office history

A blockbuster animated movie dependent on the popular “Demon Slayer — Kimetsu No Yaiba — The Movie: Mugen Train” (“鬼滅の刃”) manga series has become the first Japanese film to top ¥40 billion in box-office revenue, coming to ¥40.01 billion, its distributors said Monday. The film proceeds with its record-breaking streak at the North America box office, becoming the No. 2 anime movie of all time in U.S. box-office history.

“Demon Slayer — Kimetsu No Yaiba — The Movie: Mugen Train” became the highest-grossing Japanese movie on Dec. 26, 72 days after it was released in October, rounding up ¥32.12 billion and outperforming Oscar-winning anime maker Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away,” which acquired ¥31.68 billion.

Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba-The Movie: Mugen Train proceeds with its record-breaking streak at the North America box office, becoming the No. 2 anime movie of all-time in U.S. box-office history with $43,956,487 by Friday evening ($44.9M as of Sunday). Released stateside by Funimation Films and Aniplex of America, the feature extension of the hit anime series set a record a month ago as the No. 1 Foreign Language film debut in U.S. box office history and Funimation’s biggest opening three-day weekend theatrical release ever.

Set after the events of the TV series, Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba-The Movie: Mugen Train has Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke embark on a new mission. Along with one of the most remarkable fighters of the Demon Slayer Corps, Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku, they explore the mysterious disappearance of more than 40 individuals on board the Mugen Train. The R-rated supernatural adventure is directedby Haruo Sotozaki highlighting the original story by Koyoharu Gotoge with screenplay and animation production by studio ufotable.

Mugen Train opened in Japan on October 16, 2020, and is presently the highest-grossing anime and Japanese film (animated or live-action) of all time. The movie opened on 403 screens (including 38 IMAX theaters), has netted more than $368M at the box offices in Japan, and is the best IMAX release of all time in the market. The film opened at #1 in Australia and New Zealand in February.

It has likewise been slaying box-office records in the more extensive Asia-Pacific region and proceeding with its record-breaking streak in the U.S. market with a $21.14 million opening in April, the greatest debut by a foreign-language film in that country’s box-office history, as indicated by U.S. distributors of the film.

The global hit manga series on which the film is based is set in Japan around 100 years prior and tells the story of a young boy battling human-eating demons as he looks for a cure for his sister, who has become a demon. It has been dubbed into a few languages.

The film focuses on the efforts of hero Tanjiro Kamado, alongside his sister and fellow demon slayers, to save the lives of travelers onboard a train. Altogether, it has acquired ¥51.7 billion worldwide up until this point, as per Aniplex Inc., which distributes the film with Toho Co.

Storing up over ¥10 billion in its first 10 days in Japanese cinemas, the most ever, “Demon Slayer” likewise drew record weekend audiences for 14 weeks in total and still sat within the top 10 as of Sunday, as indicated by the film ranking detailed by Kogyo Tsushinsha.

The film, directed by Haruo Sotozaki, depends on the manga series by Koyoharu Gotoge that was published in the Weekly Shonen Jump between 2016 and 2020.

Outside the good news for Tanjiro and co., the domestic box-office was generally quiet this weekend, led by the Saw franchise’s least BO debut yet with Spiral’s $8.7M opening. Abroad, theaters are anticipating a blockbuster infusion from F9, which will carry out in various regions (including China, Russia, and South Korea) in front of its U.S. release on June 25.

In notable animation activity, hybrid sequel Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway bounced into U.K. theaters, which resumed May 17 at 50% capacity. The Columbia/Animal Logic co-pro has netted $1.2M in the country, which was the second-greatest market after the U.S. for the first film in 2018. Peter has saved $20M worldwide so far in his second outing and will get back to U.S. theaters on June 18.

The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime series, streaming on Funimation both subtitled and dubbed, debuted in 2019 and depends on Koyoharu Gotoge’s manga, which gloats more than 150 million copies available for use in Japan. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is an action-packed, exciting story of a youngster looking for a cure for his sister, who has been transformed into a demon after their family is violently slaughtered by demons. Fans can catch up on the entire series with the three-part TV specials, “Sibling’s Bond”, “Mt. Natagumo Arc” and “The Hashira Meeting Arc” on Funimation.

In the United States, the film procured 20 million dollars in the first three days since its April 23 release. That makes it the highest-earning foreign-language movie for the practically identical period in US history.

At present, the greatest anime film domestically is: Pokémon: The First Movie with an $85.7 million gross. Demon Train’s $44.9 million gross additionally makes it the third-highest grossing R-rated animated film of all time, just behind South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut ($52 million) and Sausage Party ($97.6 million).

Mugen Train’s box office achievements are a long way from restricted to simply its domestic box office performance. The film previously earned $365.7 million in its home country of Japan in 2020, which means Mugen Train outperformed Spirited Away to become the greatest film ever in that region. It has likewise gotten significant box office hauls in nations like Taiwan ($22.6 million) and South Korea ($17.4 million).

The film’s box office incomes in South Korea have ranked among the top five for 17 successive weeks since its release on January 27.

Then, Spiral: From The Book of Saw keeps on revitalizing the Saw franchise with a current total run of $15.9 million. It has now outperformed Saw VI’s total box office run and is presently estimated to gross around $30 million. Even though it hasn’t arrived at the current series record of Saw III’s $33.6 million, it is as yet a great run considering the ongoing pandemic and absence of a same-day VOD release.

F9, notwithstanding, is as of now dominating the global box office. The long-delayed next installment of the Fast & Furious franchise is assessed to hit 160 million dollars across eight markets, with its China release scheduled to be the franchise’s second-biggest opening in the region. While the U.S. will not get to see Han’s awaited return of the Family until June 25th, it is now hoping to have a successful and profitable run.

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train and Spiral: From The Book of Saw are as of now playing in theaters. F9: The Fast Sagarides into theaters June 25.

“Demon Slayer” is scheduled to be released in Britain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and elsewhere.

Notwithstanding theaters, fans can likewise appreciate Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba-The Movie: Mugen Train on EST starting June 22 on Apple TV, Microsoft Store, Vudu, Google Play, PlayStation Store, and Amazon. Pre-orders for the film will start today on Apple TV, Microsoft Store, and PlayStation Store.