Talk about an unexpected September bloom at the box office, which continued this weekend with a cornucopia of new offerings led by the record-smashing U.S. debut of the Japanese anime sequel Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – the Movie Infinity Castle. The Sony-owned Crunchyroll is handling the movie in North America and a raft of foreign territories, excluding Japan and other select Asian markets.
The pic opened well ahead of expectations in the U.S. and Canada with an estimated $70 million from 3,315 theaters, including a huge Friday haul of $33 million, to score the top opening ever for an anime title at the North American box office. It’s also Sony’s best showing in recent times, as well as a record-best for Crunchyroll. There’s more — Infinity Castle is the top opening of the year so far for an animated title, as well as the biggest September animated debut of all time, not adjusted for inflation.
Overseas, Demon Slayer earned another $49 million as Crunchyroll rolled the film out in an additional 49 markets for worldwide weekend haul of $132.1 million. The film’s total global gross is now well north of $400 million; Crunchyroll’s portion is now $177.8 million.
For U.S. theater owners, it’s the second strong weekend in a row for moviegoing after a miserable August, save for a special two-day singalong screening of KPop: Demon Hunters, the most-watched English-language film in the history of Netflix.
Tracking had suggested the Demon Slayer would open $35 million to $40 million domestically; others thought $50 million was far more likely. But it came in even higher as the appetite for the anime genre grows in the U.S., and after being embraced by critics and audiences alike. The pick skewed male (57 percent, with the vast majority of those buying tickets landing in the 18 to 34 age bracket).
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – the Movie Infinity Castle is the first feature film in the three-part cinematic trilogy representing the final battle of the hugely popular, award-winning anime shonen series from famed animation studio Ufotable. The film has likewise done record-smashing business in Japan, where it debuted in July and has earned north of $200 million.
Directed by Haruo Sotozaki, Infinity Castle adapts the final arc of Koyoharu Gotouge’s best-selling manga series. Voice cast regulars Natsuki Hanae (Tanjiro), Akari Kitō (Nezuko), Hiro Shimono (Zenitsu) and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Inosuke) return as the Demon Slayer Corps embarks on a climactic assault against the demon king Muzan Kibutsuji. The film was co-financed by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Group. International distribution comes from Toho, Aniplex and Crunchyroll, with Imax releases planned in over 40 territories worldwide.
The film also posted historic results for Imax in Japan; ditto for Imax screens in North America, where both Imax screens and other premium large-format screens accounted for 44 percent of the gross.
Warner Bros. and New Line’s juggernaut The Conjuring: Last Rites — which finished Sunday with a near-franchise best $333 million in global ticket sales — fell 69 percent domestically in North America for a domestic total of $131.1 million after competing with Demon Slayer for younger moviegoers. Overseas, it raked in a huge $60.5 million as it cleared the $200 million mark at the foreign box office for a worldwide tally of $332.9 million in its first 12 or so days.
The final big screen adaptation of the beloved British show Downton Abbey placed third with a domestic debut of $18.1 million, in line with expectations. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is likewise benefiting from glowing reviews and strong audience scores. Overseas, the movie opened to $12.3 million from its first 31 markets, led by the U.K. with $6.3 million, for a worldwide start of $30.4 million. The female-skewing film (72 percent) played older, with 55 percent of the audience over the age of 55.
Lionsgate’s dystopian The Long Walk, based on a Stephen King novel, opened in fourth place with an estimated $11.5 million. The acclaimed pic earned a B+ CinemaScore, not unusual for the genre. (Demon Slayer and Grand Finale each received an A).
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Pixar’s seminal animated film Toy Story, Disney is rereleasing the movie this weekend to strong numbers. The pic rounded out the top five with a pleasing $3.5 million domestically for a global total of $5.2 million. And in its second weekend, the rerelease of the filmed adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton took in another $2.2 million for a 10-day total of $15 million. Disney also did well by a special 60th anniversary rerelease of The Sound of Music, which earned $1.5 million in North America.
Rob Reiner’s sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues started off with an estimated $1.7 million to land at the bottom of the top 10 chart. The sequel to Reiner’s cult-classic mockumentary earned an A- CinemaScore.
Sept. 14, 7:45 a.m.: Updated with revised estimates.
This story was originally published Sept. 13 at 9:41 a.m.
Credit: Source link