‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’ Eyes 26-Year Old Anime Box Office Record After $10M In Thursday Previews

Sony and Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle overtook North American theaters on Thursday with a massive $10 million in preview grosses across 2,800 locations, according to Deadline. Premium formats such as IMAX and PLFs helped drive those numbers, with showings beginning as early as 4 p.m.

The preview performance is remarkable by anime standards, equaling the film’s entire five-day presale tally, which itself set a new record for the category. To put the results in perspective, Deadline notes that the tally nearly matched Five Nights at Freddy’s and came within striking distance of Oppenheimer.

Much of the audience excitement stems from the fact that Infinity Castle launches the first installment in a planned finale trilogy directed by Haruo Sotozaki, but the film has also received strong reviews and is benefiting from extremely positive word of mouth from fans.

Director Haruo Sotozaki, who has helmed the Demon Slayer series and previous feature Mugen Train, returns to lead Infinity Castle. The film is produced by ufotable in collaboration with Aniplex and Shueisha. Together, these partners have transformed Demon Slayer into one of the most successful anime franchises worldwide.

While the all-time anime box office opening record still belongs to Warner Bros.’ Pokémon: The First Movie (1999) with a $31 million opening weekend, it looks like a sure thing that Infinity Castle will surpass that record. Sony is conservatively estimating a $35 million opening weekend, but industry tracking places the range higher, between $45 million and $60 million for Friday through Sunday. Early reception has been glowing: Rotten Tomatoes lists the film at 96% Fresh from critics and an audience approval of 99%.

The real question now is where Infinity Castle will land on the lifetime NA box office list. If it continues to overachieve, it may finish the weekend in second place, passing its predecessor, Mugen Train‘s total take of $49.5 million. After that, only Pokémon‘s final cume of $85.7 million stands in the way of the crown.

For the anime industry, this launch underscores just how mainstream titles like Demon Slayer have become, both as box office forces and cultural events. Given current trends, we wouldn’t expect any of Infinity Castle‘s records to last for very long.