The late summer box office has delivered an unlikely juggernaut: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Infinity Castle. The anime epic has stormed past $555 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time and the top-earning anime feature ever released. In North America, where anime movies were once relegated to the margins, Infinity Castle has stunned with $104 million in two weekends — by far the biggest U.S. theatrical run ever for a Japanese title. Given anime fandom’s penchant for repeat viewings — and a rumored China release still in the works — there’s no telling just how rich Infinity Castle’s worldwide haul might become.
Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba) is based on a wildly popular manga by Japanese artist Koyoharu Gotouge. After the release of an initial TV series adaptation in 2019, the property quickly became one of Japan’s most beloved pop culture exports. The saga follows Tanjiro Kamado, a kind-hearted boy who must transform into a “demon slayer” after his family is slaughtered and his younger sister Nezuko is turned into a demon herself. With lavish animation from Tokyo studio Ufotable, and an emotionally resonant mix of family bonds, heroism and dark fantasy, the series grew even bigger with its first feature installment, Mugen Train, which grossed over $500 million worldwide — in 2020, at a time when the theatrical business was already heavily challenged by the pandemic.
