The global supernatural action anime phenomenon Demon Slayer has scored another incredible box-office hit, as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle reached $555 million worldwide this weekend to become the biggest Japanese-produced film of all time at the global b.o., on top of becoming the highest-grossing anime movie ever worldwide. Released by Toho and Aniplex in Japan, the ufotable production is being distributed in nost other markets by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment; the latter has added up a $269M total to-date
Industry watchers expect the tally to come in even higher on Monday, and note that while the previous Demon Slayer feature hit Mugen Train — now the the No. 2 highest-grossing Japanese movie of all time at $506.5M worldwide — did close to 41 billion yen in Japan, compared to Infinity Castle‘s almost 40B, shifting exchange rates since 2020 mean the USD value is much higher.
The Top 10 highest-grossing Japanese films worldwide of all time are all animated:
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle — $555M, 2025 (ufotable)
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Train — $506.5M, 2020 (ufotable)
- Your Name. — $405.3M, 2016 (CoMix Wave Films)
- Spirited Away — $395.6M, 2001 (Studio Ghibli)
- Suzume — $323.6M, 2022 (CoMix Wave Films)
- The Boy and the Heron — $294.2M, 2023 (Studio Ghibli)
- The First Slam Dunk — $279M, 2022 (Toei Animation)
- One Piece Film: Red — $246.6M, 2022 (Toei Animation)
- Howl’s Moving Castle — $237.5M, 2004 (Studio Ghibli)
- Ponyo — $204.8M, 2008 (Studio Ghibli)
Domestically, Infinity Castle snatched the No. 1 spot for its second weekend with $17.3M from 3,342 theaters (+27 from previous frame), overtaking the Universal horror pic Him ($13.5M). Infinity Castle saw a remarkable 62% increase in ticket sales in its second Saturday ($7.3M) over its second Friday ($4.5M), which in turn was town -86% from the previous week. The Demon Slayer showdown now boasts a North American cumulative take of $104.7M over 10 days of release.
In other domestic box-office news, the waning summer family movie season has offered a big opportunity for a couple of fan-favorite re-run titles to take on the Top 10. Coming in at No. 8 is the 30h anniversary re-release of Pixar’s Toy Story from Disney, which screened in 2,340 theaters (-35) in its second week for a three-day take of $1.4M ($229.1M lifetime total).
Just behind was the Studio Ghibli Fest (GKIDS/Fathom Entertainment) presentation of Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-nominated 2004 fantasy Howl’s Moving Castle, which screens in English dub on Saturday & Sunday with an encore on Wednesday, September 24, and subtitled on Monday and Tuesday. The anime adaptation of British author Diana Wynne Jones’ 1986 novel screened in 1,127 theaters and took in $1.4M over two days ($10.5M lifetime).
Still to come from the 2025 Studio Ghibli Fest lineup are two Oscar winners from Miyazaki: Spirited Away (2001) in October, and The Boy and the Heron (2023) making its Fest debut in November.
[Sources: Deadline, Box Office Mojo]
