Demon Slayer Makes Movie History After Topping U.S. Box Office
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train has finally made its way into theaters in North America, dethroning [...]
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train has finally made its way into theaters in North America, dethroning Mortal Kombat from the top of the charts and making anime history in the West. The movie has been tearing up the box office around the world, especially in Japan wherein it has become the most profitable film of all time, passing Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away along with every other movie, animated or otherwise, that has been released into theaters in the East.
Taking the top spot in the box office for not only its opening day, but eventually securing the top spot once more in its second weekend out, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has also made some major history in the box office. It's now only the second anime film ever to reach the top of the box office in the United States. The first film to achieve such a feat? Pokemon: The First Movie, which was first released over 20 years ago.
According to the newest box office numbers reported by Box Office Mojo, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train had secured the top spot at the box office this past weekend (defeating Mortal Kombat in the process) with $6.4 million USD. This isn't as successful as the first week's screening for the film, and while this indicates it won't have as much of a dominate run in North America as it did in Japan, it is still a huge feat.
Compared to Pokemon: The First Movie, Koyoharu Gotouge's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a much different and much more niche property. It's a film continuing the most successful anime release of 2019, but the film itself got a hard R rating and a limited theatrical release across theaters. This is not even factoring in the current impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on theater performance overall.
Even with all of these factors working against it, the film is now one of the most notable anime releases of all time in many different ways. But what do you think? Were you able to check out the new movie? Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train is now screening in theaters, and you can check out our full review of the film here. Let us know your thoughts in the comments or you can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!