Nothing can stand in the way of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, as it continues to take the Japanese box office by storm. Following a record-breaking opening haul at the domestic box office, the anime pic has grossed 12.8 billion yen (US$87.1 million) in its first 10 days, becoming the fastest film to cross 10 billion yen (US$67.4 million) in the country.
The previous record holder was held by 2020’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie –Infinity Train, which is also currently the top-grossing film of all time in Japan after 73 days at the box office. Of a listed total earnings of 40.43 billion yen (US$273 million) domestically, 4.6 billion yen (US$43.85 million at the time) came from its first three days, including 1.2 billion yen (US$12.03 million at the time) from the opening day alone. In comparison, Infinity Castle earned 5.5 billion (US$37.38 million) yen in its first three days and racked up 7.3 billion yen (US$49.50 million) over a four-day long weekend.
It’s a very strong start for the first film in a planned trilogy, with its opening week soaring way past expectations, but the success was already mapped out since the beginning. The trailer debut registered more than 40 million views within 24 hours on official social media platforms, and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle now holds three major all-time records: the highest opening performance, the biggest first-day earnings, and the strongest single-day box office in Japanese film history.
Releasing on 14 August in Singapore, it picks up after the finale of the fourth anime season, when Muzan Kibutsuji (Toshihiko Seki / Greg Chun) traps Tanjiro Kamado (Natsuki Hanae / Zach Aguliar) and his companions of the Demon Slayer Corps inside his fortress, the Infinity Castle, where a decisive battle between the Demon Slayers and Muzan’s subordinates, the Upper Moons, kicks off.
Infinity Train‘s Haruo Sotozaki is directing the movie at returning studio ufotable, with Aimer and LiSA performing the songs “Taiyō ga Noboranai Sekai” (“A World Where the Sun Never Rises”) and “Zankoku no Yoru ni Kagayake” (“Shine in the Cruel Night”), respectively. It will screen in IMAX and both Japanese with English subtitles, as well as in English dub.
The fourth movie in the lineup serves more as a feature-length multi-film adaptation like Mugen Train instead of the Swordsmith Village and Hashira Training compilation films, and is set to adapt the first part of the final arc of Koyoharu Gotoge’s manga. It opens in theatres on 14 August.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
