Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train debuted in Japan with a record-breaking $44 million, granting the anime film the honor of having the biggest opening in the country's history. Now, Demon Slayer The Movie has 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 Movie crossed 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 Slayer earned 1.509 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 Slayer now claims the records for the best weekend, the second-best weekend, and the best second weekend at the Japanese box office.
By crossing the 10 billion yen mark faster than any other film in Japanese box office history, Demon Slayer bested the previous record held by Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away. Released 19 years ago, Spirited Away reached 10 billion yen in 25 days while fellow Japanese films Your Name and Weathering With You reached the milestone in 28 and 34 days, respectively. With no competition in Japan for nearly a month, Demon Slayer reportedly has the potential to outgross Spirited Away's overall total of 30.8 billion yen and become country's the highest-grossing film. Demon Slayer is also slated for release in Taiwan on October 30 before arriving in North America next year.
The Demon Slayer franchise originated as a manga series by Koyoharu Gotōge before being adapted as an anime television series. Mugen Train serves 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 for Demon Slayer The Movie had been so high in Japan that TOHO cinemas announced it was lifting capacity limitations on all of its theaters during the film's opening weekend.
The box office success of Demon Slayer is a positive sign for upcoming anime films, including Pretty 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 the release date being pushed back to January and February 2021.
The Demon Slayer franchise is also expanding into video games, with a new project being developed by CyberConnect2. Scheduled for release in 2021, the Demon Slayer game will be available for the PlayStation 4.
Source: Demon Slayer/Twitter, Mantan Web