Record-Breaking Success of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle
The first film in the Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle trilogy has made a significant impact on the box office, setting new records for Japanese anime. It has achieved the biggest opening weekend in the history of Japanese anime, surpassing all previous records—including one set by the same franchise.
According to reports, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle - Akaza's Return earned an impressive 7,315,846,800 yen (approximately US$49.60 million) over its four-day opening weekend, which included the Marine Day holiday. An estimated US$3.5 million came from IMAX screenings alone.
On its opening day, the film grossed 1.64 billion yen (about US$11.1 million), followed by another 1.84 billion yen (around US$12.47 million) on the second day. On Sunday, July 20, it broke the single-day performance record with 2.03 billion yen (about US$13.8 million). The film continued its success on Monday, July 21, earning approximately 1.79 billion yen (about US$12.14 million).
In just four days, the film has already become the second-highest-grossing movie of the year in Japan, trailing only Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback.
Breaking Previous Records
The Infinity Castle movie has decisively topped the opening performance of Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, setting new records for the franchise. In comparison, Mugen Train earned 4,623,117,450 yen (about US$43.85 million at the time) from 3,424,930 tickets in its first three days in October 2020. This is over 901 million yen less than what Infinity Castle earned in the same period.
On its opening day, Mugen Train earned 1.26 billion yen, which falls over 371 million yen short of Infinity Castle's opening day gross. The Infinity Castle film is screening across 452 locations in Japan, including 393 regular theaters and 59 IMAX locations. This marks the widest release for any Demon Slayer film, surpassing Mugen Train's May 2025 re-release, which played in 423 theaters.
Despite this, Mugen Train still holds the record for the highest-earning film in Japan ever, with a total domestic gross of 40.43 billion yen (about US$272 million by current conversion). It also holds the title of the highest-earning Japanese film worldwide and was the highest-grossing film globally in 2020. This made it the first non-Hollywood film to top the yearly worldwide box office in over a century, and it also became the second highest-grossing anime film at the U.S. box office.
Anticipation and Popularity
The unprecedented success of Infinity Castle was well anticipated. When ticket sales began online in Japan at midnight on July 14, they sold out almost immediately, with fans reporting that ticketing websites crashed due to the high volume of traffic. In many cases, tickets were completely sold out in as little as 10 minutes. On opening day, major theaters like TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku scheduled as many as 40 screenings, with fans lining up early in the morning for the first showings and to purchase exclusive merchandise.
Future Releases and Adaptations
The Infinity Castle movie trilogy will adapt the final "Infinity Castle" story arc from Koyoharu Gotouge’s manga. The film is slated to release in the U.S. on September 12. This upcoming release is expected to continue the legacy of the Demon Slayer franchise, which has consistently captivated audiences both in Japan and internationally.
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