<em>Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle</em> has achieved a remarkable milestone at the North American box office with a record-breaking debut, marking the largest anime opening weekend ever in the region. The film, officially titled Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, was released in North America by Crunchyroll, a distributor from Sony that is on its way to becoming a significant player in theatrical releases.
With a domestic launch of $70 million, the film exceeded expectations and established itself as one of the most significant theatrical events of 2025. This record-breaking figure is particularly impressive considering the movie’s reported budget of $20 million, which is a small fraction of what Hollywood typically spends on blockbuster superhero films.
For an industry grappling with rising costs and uncertain returns, the success of Infinity Castle indicates that anime has transitioned from a niche market to a dependable box office attraction. To gain further insight into this phenomenon, I consulted box office experts who elaborated on how Infinity Castle exceeded projections, why audiences are increasingly drawn to anime in theaters, and what Hollywood can learn from its success.
Analysts on Why Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Overperformed
Box office columnist Scott Mendelson, who runs The Outside Scoop, acknowledges that he anticipated strong numbers for Demon Slayer’s theatrical debut but was taken aback by how high they actually were:
“I was frankly expecting it to pull a proverbial Pitch Perfect 2/Austin Powers 2 (a sequel that opens with a gross larger than the domestic total of its predecessor), but I was slightly impressed with the sheer size of the debut. Even with all signs looking solid, I felt I was being bullish, expecting a $60 million domestic debut.
The $70 million debut implies that either plenty of fans waited until the weekend to make firm moviegoing plans or there was slightly more-than-expected “walk-up” business by those wondering what the fuss was about.”
For Brandon Katz, Director of Insights & Content Strategy at Greenlight Analytics, the data indicated a breakout well before opening day:
“Demon Slayer’s performance this weekend was not a surprise—if you were looking for the right breadcrumbs. Its ability to supercharge an under-served audience boosted Greenlight Analytics’ debut projection to $67M-$82M by Thursday morning.”
Katz noted that the audience demographic was more balanced between men and women compared to previous anime releases, demonstrating the franchise’s expanding appeal.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is not the only unexpected hit this summer. Recently, KPop Demon Hunters also performed well at the box office despite being shown on a limited number of U.S. screens and being available on Netflix as its most popular film prior to its theatrical release.
“Both are examples of demographically specific event films,” Mendelson observes, noting a clear correlation between them: “There’s a very real commercial value in offering up a proverbial prime filet to an underserved demographic … Better to give the kids Five Nights at Freddy’s than try to convince them that The Exorcist is still cool.”
What These Successes Mean For Hollywood
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