“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Infinity Castle Arc” is a Huge Hit , Overseas Reactions Deserve More Attention Than Domestic JPY 40 Billion Forecast

The “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1: Akaza’s Return”, released on July 18, has already surpassed 22 billion yen in box office revenue within 25 days of its release, reaching 6th place in Japan’s all-time box office ranking and continuing to break records.

However, the focus of Japanese media reports seems to have shifted to whether “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” can surpass the previous “Mugen Train Arc” record of over 40 billion yen in domestic box office revenue.

Discussing the success of “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” solely based on domestic box office revenue is, in a way, insufficient. This is because the buzz around “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” is already spreading overseas in parallel.

Achieved 5th Highest Opening Box Office in Taiwan’s History

Firstly, “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” was released in Taiwan on August 8, and many people flocked to the fastest screenings late on August 8.

The opening box office revenue in Taiwan for the three days from August 8 to 10 was 176 million New Taiwan Dollars (approximately 840 million Japanese Yen). This record is 50% higher than “The Mugen Train Arc,” which set a new record for the highest opening weekend for an anime film in Taiwan in 2020. Indeed, YouTube videos from Taiwanese media show many people queuing at movie theaters, just like in Japan.

Notably, the opening box office revenue for “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” is the 5th highest in Taiwan’s film history, ranking alongside Hollywood blockbusters such as the “Avengers” series and “Fast & Furious” series. This means that “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” is generating Hollywood-level excitement in Taiwan as well.
Some might consider Taiwan a special case, as Japanese content has long been popular there beyond just films, but this enthusiasm for “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” can be seen in other countries too.
 

Booking Status of “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” is a Hot Topic in Southeast Asian Countries

“The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” was also released in Thailand on August 12, and it was widely reported as big news that its box office revenue had already exceeded 20 million baht at the booking stage.
Thailand has a history where “The Mugen Train Arc” surpassed 50 million baht in box office revenue in 5 days when it was released in 2020, setting a new record for Japanese anime released in Thailand. This time, it is expected that this record will be broken again.

Furthermore, “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” is scheduled to be released in seven countries, mainly in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, from August 14 to 20.

For example, in Vietnam, it has already made news for achieving record-breaking revenue during its advance screenings, generating considerable buzz even before its official release. It is highly likely that “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” will surpass the records of “The Mugen Train Arc” in Southeast Asian countries as well.
 

To Be Released in the U.S. in September, Where “The Mugen Train Arc” Achieved Number 1

The most anticipated reaction will be from the United States, where “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” is scheduled for release on September 11. “The Mugen Train Arc” achieved a remarkable feat when it was released in the U.S. in April 2021, setting a new record for the highest opening box office for a foreign language film and reaching number 1 in the nationwide box office in its second week.

This achievement was considered a special record by many, as it occurred during a time when the COVID-19 pandemic had not yet subsided, and only 57% of theaters were operating in North America, meaning there was less competition. However, conversely, the box office revenue of “The Mugen Train Arc” in the U.S. was achieved when theaters were not fully operational due to the pandemic.

This time, “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” will be released in a situation where all “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” fans in the U.S. can go to theaters. Given that “The Mugen Train Arc” had a North American box office revenue of approximately 4.8 billion yen, “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” is expected to achieve a significantly higher record.

The Most Important Focus is Global Box Office, Not Domestic

Considering these various international situations, many will likely feel that the most important point to watch for “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” is not whether it surpasses the 40.4 billion yen domestic box office record of “The Mugen Train Arc,” but how much it can exceed the worldwide box office record of 51.7 billion yen.

Previously, films produced in Japan were primarily targeted at the Japanese market, and media reports typically only mentioned domestic box office revenue. However, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” has clearly expanded its target to the global audience, and like Hollywood blockbusters, it has become a work that should be reported with a focus on worldwide box office revenue, not just domestic.

Looking at overseas box office revenue (excluding Japan), “The Mugen Train Arc” had 88.43 million dollars, ranking 8th among Japanese films. “How Do You Live?” ranks 1st with 220 million dollars, and “Suzume” ranks 2nd with 187 million dollars. Considering that the domestic box office revenue for “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” is almost certain to exceed 30 billion yen, if it can update the overseas box office record of “How Do You Live?”, a significant update to the worldwide box office record of 51.7 billion yen will be in sight.

Can “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” Enter the Top 200 Global Film Box Office?

The worldwide box office record of 51.7 billion yen for “The Mugen Train Arc” is recorded as 485 million dollars on IMDb, depending on the yen-dollar exchange rate. Meanwhile, at the time of writing this article, the 200th place in the all-time global film box office top 200 is “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” with 595 million dollars.

Therefore, while it may be a bit premature, if “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” can achieve a record of 110 million dollars more than “The Mugen Train Arc,” it would mean that “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” would achieve the historic feat of entering the top 200 all-time global film box office as a Japanese film.

Such a discussion might have been a joke in the context of traditional Japanese cinema, but with the current popularity of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba,” it is by no means a pipe dream. In fact, the IMDb website records “The Mugen Train Arc” as the world’s number 1 grossing film released in 2020. Of course, this was a record achieved during the abnormal situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” content itself has already become a work that ranks among these global rankings.

Also Crowned as the World’s Most Popular Anime Series

After all, “The Mugen Train Arc” was released in the U.S. over four years ago in 2021. This was an early achievement when Japanese anime had just begun to be watched globally via Netflix.

According to Netflix’s announcement, currently over 50% of Netflix subscribers have watched anime, and anime viewing hours on Netflix have tripled in five years.
As a result, the anime “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Hashira Training Arc” recorded 12.9 million views in the second half of 2024 alone, accumulating a total viewing time of 51.1 million hours.

Moreover, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” won the “Best Continuing Series” award at the “Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025”, surpassing “ONE PIECE,” thus firmly establishing its position as the world’s most popular anime series in both name and reality.

Another symbolic piece of data is the number of views for the trailer video released on July 1, 2024, as the special report for “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Infinity Castle Arc”.

An English version of the video, similar to the Japanese version uploaded to Aniplex, was also uploaded to Crunchyroll. While the Japanese version has 8.35 million views, the English version has more than double, with 17.66 million views. This figure clearly shows the large scale of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” fans overseas.

Overseas Enthusiasm for “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” May Exceed Japan’s

Furthermore, in July, Shueisha announced that the worldwide cumulative circulation of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” comic books had surpassed 220 million copies, creating a big stir in the industry.

At that time, it was also announced that domestic cumulative circulation was approximately 164 million copies, while overseas cumulative circulation was approximately 56 million copies, which is a crucial point.
In fact, the “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” manga had surpassed 150 million copies in February 2021, but at that point, most of it was likely for the domestic market.

Over the four years since then, the number of core “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” fans who buy comic books overseas has increased, leading to 56 million comic books being sold overseas. Since domestic sales during this period were approximately 14 million copies, it can be said that, in terms of comic book sales, overseas sales have been more vigorous than in Japan over the past four years. In any case, it is undoubtedly possible that the number of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” fans worldwide has increased significantly more than we Japanese perceive over these past four years.

The Dawn of an Era Where Japanese Film Box Office is Reported by Global Revenue

Of course, predicting how far film box office revenue will extend is merely wishful thinking at this point, as it involves multiple factors such as the presence of other hit films and whether multiple screening opportunities can be secured in overseas theaters, similar to Japan.

However, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” has a history of accumulating various challenges that have rewritten the history of Japanese anime and films, such as distributing works to multiple streaming services and releasing feature films.

The animation of “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” is undoubtedly of a quality that can rival Hollywood blockbusters. Although the film’s production cost has not been disclosed, many experts believe it has reached an unprecedented scale of several billion yen for a Japanese anime film, which typically costs 200–300 million yen.

However, considering that Hollywood blockbusters typically exceed 10 billion yen, “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” might be considered a symbol of the era when the Japanese film industry has seriously begun making films for a global audience.

If “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” becomes a global hit, transcending the “common sense” of the conventional Japanese film industry, it would not be surprising if a future arrives where discussing the success of Japanese films solely by domestic box office revenue becomes outdated. For now, we will be watching how widely “The Infinity Castle Arc, Chapter 1” spreads among overseas fans.

This Article is AI translation by NotebookLLM from Japanese article below.