The one anime film that took the world by storm and surprised theater experts is now returning to the cinemas in new pristine 4K screenings. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train opened in Japanese theaters in October 2020, at the end of the first year of the ongoing pandemic. The film instantly became a box-office smash, having the highest-grossing opening weekend in Japan with 4.6 billion yen, the equivalent of 44 million USD. The film would soon open overseas, making around $47 million at the North American box office and making over $500 million at the global box office. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train is currently the highest-grossing Japanese movie.
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Crunchyroll has officially announced that new 4K screenings for Mugen Train will launch in North American cinemas on May 14th. The streaming company unveiled that the film will be available in theaters not only in the United States and Canada, yet in other international territories. Distribution for the film will be a collaboration between Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment, and it will be released in both Japanese with English subtitles and the English dub. Fans can purchase pre-sale tickets for the motion picture on Wednesday, April 30th.
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The Importance of Demon Slayer – Mugen Train
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train‘s success shouldn’t be underestimated. The motion picture opened when most people couldn’t leave their homes because of the pandemic. Despite pandemic concerns, the film opened to high numbers in its home country and found great success overseas. Demon Slayer was already one of the most popular anime airing at the time, but Mugen Train shot it up to a new level of awareness. The movie’s box office success in America, where it made $47 million in a questionable period of the pandemic, surprised analysts.
The Mugen Train‘s success led to two sequels in the Demon Slayer franchise, To the Hashira Training in 2022 and To the Hashira Training in 2023. Neither follow-up reached the same numbers as Mugen Train, with To the Swordsmith Village only making a worldwide total of $56 million, whereas To the Hashira Training only made $44.4 million. However, Mugen Train and other animated films at the box office, alongside anime’s growing streaming numbers and popularity among younger generations, are one of the attributes that have convinced companies to view the medium as a legitimate source of big profits. Many corporations now intend to invest much more capital in anime in hopes of making the medium more mainstream, with 2025 set to become the biggest year for anime yet.
The re-release of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train in North American theaters arrives not long before the first film of the next trilogy of Demon Slayer films. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle is scheduled to release in Japanese cinemas on July 18th, while a North American opening is set for September 12th. Infinity Castle will be adapting the arc of the same name from the manga, and it will be the first film in a trilogy, acting as the first act of the Final Battle for the series. Sunrise Countdown Arc followed the Infinity Castle arc in the manga, serving as the last half of the Final Battle, and the end of the series.
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