The first entry to the Infinity Castle trilogy is now also the highest-earning Japanese film of all time worldwide.
IMDbPro’s Box Office Mojo website, which aggregates the earnings of films domestically, internationally, and worldwide, has revealed that “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle – Part 1: Akaza Returns” has earned a whopping US$555 million globally, making it the highest-earning anime and Japanese film of all time worldwide.
This position was originally held by yet another Demon Slayer Movie, “Mugen Train”, which premiered during the Covid-19 pandemic back in 2020. The film had logged a US$506,473,668 worldwide gross.
“Akaza’s Return” also surpassed Hollywood films “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”, and “Captain America: Brave New World”.
“Akaza’s Return” also broke a US Box Office record during its North American opening weekend: being the biggest anime movie debut record, which was held by Pokemon: The First Movie since 1999.
“Akaza’s Return” makes history and breaks all expectations
We’ve posited that "Akaza's Return” would likely overcome its predecessor “Mugen Train”, but to see it rocket above and beyond at an unbelievable speed is nothing short of breathtaking.
The movie sits at #1 in many countries during the latest international weekend box offices, namely in Mexico, Spain, Italy, Australia, South Korea, Colombia, Hong Kong, Turkiye, New Zealand, and South Africa/Nigeria. It also is still the #1 movie in Japan three months after its initial premiere.
The movie now has a Japanese box office revenue of JP¥340,114,907,000 (or US$270,624,275.53 converted), with over 23.621 million attendees as of 22 September, 66 days after its release in over 400 theatres nationwide. The film is now also the highest-grossing film in Japan of all time.
The Demon Slayer anime is directed by Haruo Sotozaki under Studio Ufotable. Akira Matsushima is the character designer and chief animation director. Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina compose the music for the series. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Crunchyroll have the rights to screen the three upcoming movies globally. You can watch the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime series on Crunchyroll and Netflix depending on your location.
The Infinity Castle arc is the final battle story arc of the manga by Gotouge. It focuses on the ultimate battle for survival between the Demon Slayers and the demons directly under Muzan. As the creator of all demons, Muzan is extremely powerful. But that doesn’t mean the 12 Moons, including Kokushibo, Douma, and Akaza, are any less so. Tanjiro and the rest of the Demon Slayer corps will find themselves in grave danger in the upcoming films.
