The final battle between the Demon Slayer Corps and Muzan Kibutsuji, alongside his Twelve Kizuki, is about to begin in the upcoming Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle trilogy.
With strong anticipation building for the first installment, premiering on July 18 in Japan and September 12 in the U.S., many are now wondering whether it can surpass the success of 2020’s Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.
As the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time and the top-earning R-rated animated film globally, with $500 million in worldwide earnings, Mugen Train set a high bar.
However, Infinity Castle may have a real shot, as it’s already breaking box office records ahead of its release.
Can Infinity Castle Outshine Mugen Train’s Success?
Infinity Castle may not hit Japanese theaters until July 18, but it has already broken a record previously set by Mugen Train.
Toho has announced that the anime movie will screen in an impressive 452 theaters—393 regular and 59 IMAX screens.
This surpasses the release of Mugen Train, which opened in 423 theaters (370 regular and 53 IMAX).
Clearly, the team behind the franchise is banking on the film’s box office potential following the massive success of Mugen Train.
Infinity Castle is one of the manga’s most anticipated story arcs, continuing the battle between the Demon Slayer Corps and Muzan Kibutsuji’s demons after the events of Season 4’s Hashira Training Arc.
Instead of continuing the anime with a fifth season, the decision was made to bring this climactic showdown to the big screen, split into three parts, to give fans an epic conclusion in theaters.
What are the Box Office Expectations and Predictions for Infinity Castle?
Industry executives and analysts strongly believe that Infinity Castle will be a major box office success.
In fact, Toho executives have high expectations, predicting that the film will not only dominate domestic theaters but also make a significant impact on global box office revenue in 2025.
Executive Managing Director Ichikawa Minami projected that the film industry’s total box office revenue for the year, including both Japanese and international films, will reach around 200 billion yen, with Toho potentially contributing 91 to 92 billion yen of that total.
By the looks of it, this projection doesn’t seem far-fetched due to the immense success of all Demon Slayer films released in theaters so far.
They've even ranked among the highest-grossing anime films of all time. So, it’s only reasonable for the studio to expect Infinity Castle to change the box office landscape once again.
Sony, on the other hand, believes the Infinity Castle trilogy could exceed Mugen Train’s box office performance. The company even expects it to become the highest-grossing Japanese movie of all time.
There are also predictions that it can surpass Toho’s current highest-earning movie, Your Name, which grossed 85.4 billion yen.
With that in mind, the trilogy may reach the billion-dollar mark, potentially becoming the second non-English film to do so, following China's Ne Zha 2.
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