Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle has shattered numerous records this year, but the Hashira are far from the only collection of anime characters tearing things up at the box office. The medium has continued to explode in popularity as more anime characters make the leap from Japan to North America, and around the world, into theaters. Later this month, a major Crunchyroll release will arrive at the American box office, but the film has already been making waves in Japan. Arguably, the bloodiest anime film of the year has already defeated legendary actor Tom Cruise in box office receipts in Japan, and it might do the same in the West.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Chainsaw Man The Movie: The Reze Arc has been the top film in Japan for four weeks running, earning around $4.5 million USD for its fourth weekend. In total, Denji’s first film has brought in a little over $38.5 million USD at the box office in Japan, with the movie set to hit theaters in North America on October 24th. While it’s highly unlikely that the Chainsaw Devil will manage to defeat Tanjiro and the Demon Slayer Corps at the North American box office, with Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle taking the number one spot for two weekends in a row, Chainsaw Man The Movie might still be a hit in Western theaters all the same. This tally in Japan places Denji’s first movie above Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning, with the Tom Cruise-led sequel scoring $35.5 million USD at the Japanese box office.
Chainsaw Man’s Competition
For its fourth week at the box office, Chainsaw Man The Movie: The Reze Arc had some strong competition. The number two spot was filled by the live-action adaptation of the anime film, 5 Centimeters Per Second. In the third spot, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle continued its hot streak despite being released thirteen weeks prior. Unfortunately, much like in North America, Tron: Ares failed to become a runaway hit, debuting in fifth place for its opening weekend. Even if Chainsaw Man doesn’t defeat Tanjiro, the success of both films continues to prove just how big anime has become in recent years.
As of the writing of this article, the future of Chainsaw Man remains a mystery. A second television season has yet to be confirmed for Denji and his devil-hunting allies, and in our discussion with MAPPA President Manabu Otsuka earlier this year, even the studio is unsure how they plan to proceed with the anime adaptation. Otsuka stated at Anime Expo, “We don’t know if this is going to be the trend moving forward, that we don’t know. I think what we are going to do, like with did with Reze, is look at the next story and decide from there. If the next arc works better as a film or if it works better as a television season, we’ll decide on that, but we haven’t reached that decision as of yet.”
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
image courtesy of 20th Century Studios -
Image courtesy of Prokino Filmverleih
