Hello Sunny Siders, I know we just chatted a few days ago but I’m back with another blog! Ever since I got to see Demon Slayer Infinity Castle last weekend, I’ve been, eating, sleeping, and total concentration breathing Demon Slayer at just about every moment of my day.
In my excitement of diving into its box office performance, which I’ve been tracking since it’s Japanese release in July, I stumbled upon a news article that had a comment that said “We can easily call this a surprise hit…to have this one dominate the (domestic box office), I don’t think anyone could see this coming.”
And today, I’m here to tell you all the ways in which you shouldn’t have been surprised by the massive success of Demon Slayer Infinity Castle, and how this cultural shift in content expectations has been happening for awhile.
First, I want to start with where this filmed started: Japan. Demon Slayer Infinity Castle released in Japan on July 18th and broke every single opening weekend box office record in Japan to date at over $37 million for the 3 day weekend1. Since then, the film has stayed number 1 at the Japanese box office for 9 weeks straight, and is now the second highest grossing film of all time in Japan, behind only Mugen Train, which just so happens to be the first Demon Slayer film2.
Speaking of Demon Slayer Mugen Train, let’s talk about that film which had been the previous holder of all opening weekend box office records before Infinity Castle came in and obliterated them1.
Mugen Train released in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic when virtually no one was going to the movie theaters and it still broke every single box office record Japan had until that time. Mugen Train went on to make $279 million dollars in Japan and $522 million dollars worldwide, becoming the HIGHEST GROSSING FILM OF 20202,3. Yes, you heard that right, an anime film was the HIGHEST GROSSING FILM in 2020, surpassing every other film released that year, beating out films like Sonic the Hedgehog, Mulan, The Croods: A New Age, Soul, and Onward by a significant margin.
Now, I hear you saying “well that is all fine and good, but what about the U.S., it still seems like a surprise to have performed so well here.” And for that, let’s take a look at how anime has slowly become one of the largest forms of entertainment not just in Japan, but globally.
A recent survey done by Polygon of over 4,000 Americans aged 18 and up found that 42% of Gen Z interviewees watch anime weekly4. This is quite surprising, when you consider that another recent study found that only 25% of Gen Z follows the NFL4! Further, 25% of millennials, 12% of Gen X, and 3% of boomers reported to have watched anime weekly, highlighting that anime goes beyond the younger generations and is gaining appeal with the older ones too4.
Continuing to look at the market size and trends for anime in the U.S., we see that the market was estimated to be over $2.5 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to over $7.9 billion by 2033, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13% from 2025 – 20335. This is all the more impressive, considering the same reporting found the comic book market in the U.S. to be valued at only $1.9 billion6! The market that spawned superhero films which have dominated the box office for over a decade is now smaller than anime.
And it’s not just the market that is lower, soon the box office will be too, as Demon Slayer Infinity Castle could very well surpass all of the superhero films released this year in terms of box office sales, and most certainly in terms of revenue.
Getting back to the matter at hand and why I was absolutely not shocked by Infinity Castle’s U.S. performance, the film was making headlines well before it released on September 12th. When tickets went on pre-sale on August 15th, demand was so pent up that the Fandango website crashed due to all the activity7. Infinity Castle was estimated to have sold somewhere between $10 – $15 million in pre-sale tickets, making it the number 1 pre-sales for an anime film in U.S. history, rivaling what Fantatic Four did in 7 weeks and Superman did 4 weeks in just THREE DAYS8.
The film continued to gain momentum up until its U.S. box office opening weekend where it continued to break records, surpassing Pokémon: The First Movie’s $31 million dollar opening weekend in just one day and going on to make over $70 million for the 3 day weekend10. The film is expected to surpass $100 million dollars for the U.S. box office this weekend, which will secure its spot as the number one anime film in the U.S.
The current global box office total for Demon Slayer Infinity Castle is sitting at over $464 million and it still hasn’t opened in major markets like German and France2. That puts it ahead of Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* and it isn’t too far off from Fantastic Four. However, even if Infinity Castle doesn’t surpass Fantastic Four and Superman in box office sales, it’s already obliterated them from a revenue standpoint. And that is because Demon Slayer Infinity Castle is estimated to have only costed $20 million dollars to make, meanwhile Fantastic Four was estimated to have cost over $300 million11,12!
What I think this truly highlights is that times and tastes are changing. People are tired of devastatingly mediocre films and stories coming out of Hollywood and are craving a shift. A major front runner in this race is from anime, which has the powerhouse of iconically recognizable franchises and characters, but has above all else never sacrificed quality of storytelling or animation to succeed. It’s apparent that young people especially are drawn to this different kind of media and I believe it will continue to grow and become even more prevalent as time goes on. I fully believe that the final installment of the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle trilogy could surpass a $1 billion at the box office and even become the number one film of the year as with Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.
Going back to where this all started, given all the data to support and suggest otherwise, I think we can easily say that if you’ve been watching the numbers than you could see the smashing success of Demon Slayer Infinity Castle coming from a mile away.
Sunny Side Up With Siri 