Aniplex announced new box office results for Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train that places the anime film's total earnings beyond the overall gross of James Cameron's Titanic in Japan. With this monumental achievement, Demon Slayer The Movie is just one spot away from becoming Japan's highest-grossing film of all time.
Before Demon Slayer The Movie premiered in Japan, Toho Cinemas temporarily lifted capacity restrictions designed to protect patrons from contracting COVID-19 in order to meet the high demand for advance tickets. That anticipation translated to record-breaking box office success, even by pre-pandemic standards, when the anime film earned $44 million in its opening weekend, exceeding the debut grosses of Disney's Frozen II and director Makoto Shinkai's Weathering with You.
As of November 29, Demon Slayer The Movie has earned a total of $264 million from 20.5 million admissions since being released in Japan on October 16, 2020. Having surpassed the $251 million total earned by Titanic in Japan in 1997, the anime film now ranks as the country's second-highest-grossing of all time. After just 45 days of release, Demon Slayer The Movie is roughly $30 million short of exceeding the $295.5 million Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away earned to become Japan's number film at the box office in 2001. However, Demon Slayer The Movie already bested a record set by Spirited Away when the former film reached the 10 billion yen mark in 15 days compared to the 25 days it took for the Miyazaki hit to reach the same milestone.
Directed by Haruo Sotozaki, Demon Slayer The Movie serves as a direct sequel to the 2019 anime series of the same name, which itself is an adaptation of the manga series by Koyoharu Gotōg. The story of the film centers on Tanjiro Kamad and the Demon Slayer Corps as they investigate a series of mysterious disappearances aboard the Infinity Train, unaware of the trap being set by the last member of a group of twelve powerful Demons. In the series and manga that preceded the feature film, Tanjiro becomes a Demon Slayer in order to restore the humanity of his sister, Nezuko, who was transformed into a demon after their family was killed by the villainous Muzan Kibutsuji.
The passion Demon Slayer fans have for the franchise is not to be underestimated. In fact, one fan is considering legal action against his ex-girlfriend after she threw away his prized collection of Nezuko figurines.
Pokemon Company International is likely hoping its own fans will show up in the same numbers for the upcoming film Pokemon: Secrets of the Jungle. The latest installment of the Pokemon film series had already been slated to premiere in July before the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in its debut date being pushed back to December 25th, 2020.
Demon Slayer: The Movie will be released in North America in 2021.
Source: Variety