US box office trackers have reported that Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle has earned US$33 million in day one of its US debut, after making headlines for earning around US$10 million in advance sales.
This first-day opening gross (the film premiered on September 12, after early screenings for Crunchyroll Mega Fan or Ultimate Fan-tier members) surpasses the opening weekend gross of any other anime movie, including its predecessor Mugen Train (around US$21 million) and the current anime movie champion in the US, Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back (around US$31 million, although inflation would put it at around US$61.6 million).
That US$33 million is also more than the US lifetime grosses of most other anime films, and is close to the total grosses of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (US$38,112,130) and Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (~US$34,542,754), which are fourth and fifth best-performing anime films in the US, respectively (Pokémon the Movie 2000 is number three). It’s also not too far off from Mugen Train‘s final US$49,505,008 score, although Mewtwo Strikes Back‘s inflation-adjusted total gross of ~US$170 million remains comfortably ahead.
Deadline previously reported that Sony had forecast a US$35 million opening weekend for Infinity Castle, while estimates from elsewhere were looking at an opening haul in the $45 million to $60 million ranges.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle is reported to have opened in 3,315 locations in the US.
In Japan, where it premiered on July 18 JST, Infinity Castle is steadily advancing onto the position of top-grossing movie of all time (ignoring inflation), having recorded a total gross of 31,425,916,900 yen (~US$212.7 million), close to Spirited Away‘s 31.6 billion yen, as of September 8 JST. Worldwide (it opened in some other countries before its US debut), its gross is currently calculated to be US$279,656,296.
Infinity Castle is the first in a conclusive trilogy for the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime adaptation, which began in 2019 with its first season and is based on the Shueisha-published manga by Koyoharu Gotouge. The new movies depict the Demon Slayer Corps’ final battle with Muzan’s demons.
Staff (returning)
• Director: Haruo Sotozaki
• Character designer and chief animation director: Akira Matsushima
• Color designer: Yuko Omae
• Background art director: Masaru Yanaka (reprising from Mugen Train and Hashira Training Arc)
• Background art director: Yuri Kabazawa (reprising from Mugen Train and Hashira Training Arc)
• Background art supervisor: Koji Eto (since Hashira Training Arc)
• Compositing director: Yuichi Terao
• Script production and animation production: ufotable
Cast
• Natsuki Hanae as Tanjiro Kamado
• Akari Kito as Nezuko Kamado
• Hiro Shimono as Zenitsu Agatsuma
• Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Inosuke Hashibira
Sources: Variety, The Numbers
