‘Infinity Castle’ Slays North American Anime Box Office Record With $70M Opening

The phenomenon of Demon Slayer has struck again. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle, the first film in the trilogy conclusion of the hit anime saga, delivered a historic $70 million North American opening. The total beats even the most optimistic estimates coming into the weekend and easily claims the record for the biggest anime debut of all time, ranking as the sixth-highest September opening in history. It also marked Sony’s largest domestic opening of 2025 to date.

Internationally, Infinity Castle raked in an impressive $132.1 million, bringing the film’s total global gross to more than $400 million according to initial estimates.

Directed by Haruo Sotozaki and produced by the acclaimed animation studio Ufotable, Infinity Castle adapts the climactic final arc of Koyoharu Gotouge’s best-selling manga series. The film is the first installment of a planned trilogy and was co-financed by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony, with international distribution handled by Toho, Aniplex, and Crunchyroll.

Global Box Office Breakdown

Demon Slayer‘s momentum was far from limited to the U.S. The film carved out record-breaking openings across multiple territories:

• Latin America: $29M total, led by Mexico ($9.8M), Brazil ($4.4M), and Peru ($2.8M).
• Europe & Middle East: $17.4M, with standout debuts in the UK ($4.6M), Spain ($3.7M), and Saudi Arabia ($2.8M).
• India: $5.2M — the biggest opening ever for an anime or animated film.
• Australia: $3.2M — also a new anime record.
• Other key Asian markets (outside Japan): Hong Kong ($11.7M), Indonesia ($7.2M), Thailand ($7M), Malaysia ($6.5M), and the Philippines ($6.4M).

Japan, where the film launched earlier this summer under Toho and Aniplex, has already exceeded $282 million in ticket sales. Factoring in this weekend’s results, Infinity Castle has now surged past $450 million worldwide, according to Comscore estimates.

A Cultural and Commercial Milestone

The film’s U.S. debut more than doubled the $31 million opening weekend record that had been held since 1999 by Pokémon: The First Movie. The appetite for anime in North America continues to soar, with Infinity Castle attracting a majority-male audience (57%), skewing heavily toward the 18–34 demographic, one that has long puzzled western studios and distributors.

Premium formats played a major role in the film’s success: Imax and other large-format screens contributed a sizable 44% of North America’s gross, with the film earning $58.5 million globally in Imax to date.

Looking Ahead

With French- and German-speaking markets still to come, and sustained momentum in Korea (already at $34.7M, making it the country’s No. 3 film of the year), Infinity Castle is on track to climb even higher in the global rankings.

The sequel follows 2021’s Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, which itself was a worldwide sensation, but this weekend cements the franchise as one of the most powerful forces in global cinema today.

Weekend Snapshot: Toy Story’s Anniversary Re-Release

Meanwhile, the 30th-anniversary re-release of Toy Story took in $3.5 million in North America over the weekend. Though far behind the juggernaut that is Demon Slayer, the nostalgic re-release demonstrates there’s still crowd interest for beloved franchises, especially when tied to anniversary events.