Demon Slayer Movie Makes Anime History with U.S. Opening

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train has already broken countless records since hitting theaters in Japan last year, and with the latest adventure of Tanjiro and his demon-slaying friends hitting North American theaters recently, it seems as if the anime film from Ufotable has far more records that it is looking to break. Though the first feature-length film of the Demon Slayer franchise wasn’t able to take the number one spot in theaters this past weekend, with Warner Bros’ Mortal Kombat taking that honor, it seems as though the next chapter of the Demon Slayer Corps’ adventures will definitely be making waves in the West.

Scoring the number two spot in US theaters, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is the first anime movie to ever do so, proving that the popularity of the Shonen franchise is continuing to expand. Though a home video release has yet to be revealed for North America, the latest film shockingly made its debut on Sony Playstation servers as for a brief period of time, anime fans could own the movie long before it hit home video due to a mistake in the system. While we haven’t heard news about what caused the mistake, a number of fans were able to watch the Mugen Train leave the station for the first time.

For those who might not be familiar with the concept of the film, it directly follows the events of the first season of the anime, with Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke recuperating from their battle with the Spider Clan. Attempting to learn more about his fire-breathing technique, Tanjiro is leading the charge in order to come face to face with Rengoku, the Flame Hashira is traveling aboard the train that is fit to bursting with demonic threats.

In its first weekend, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train netted over $20 Million Dollars at the box office, proving that anime fans are definitely more than a little enthusiastic to see the continuing adventures of the Shonen series created by Koyoharu Gotouge. With the movie pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars of profits in box office takes from around the world, it will be interesting to see how US ticket sales add to the movie’s “war chest”.

What do you think of Demon Slayer’s first weekend profits in North America? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of demon-slaying.

Via ANN