The hype train forDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Trainhas yet to pull into the station for Western audiences, but it is speeding along in Japan at a breakneck pace. The proof is in the earnings and the number of days it took to get there.
Toho and Aniplex, co-distributors for theDemon Slayermovie, confirmed that the film grossed more than 30 billion yen (roughly $290 million) in ticket sales just 59 days after it released in Japan.Demon Slayerisn’t just the second moviein the country’s history to cross the 30 billion yen milestone, it also did it faster than the movie currently wearing the all-time box office crown.
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Given how Japanese audiences received theDemon Slayer Mugen Trainmovie, it seems all but inevitable that it will topple the current highest-grossing film Hayao Miyazaki’sSpirited Away.Demon Slayeris raking in moneyat an impressive clip considering that its competition for the top spot, an Academy Award-winning film with an internationally acclaimed director, needed 255 days to break 30 billion yen.
It wasn’t long ago that theDemon Slayermovie surpassedTitanicto take second place in Japan’s all-time box office list.Now it only needs 600 million yen($5.7 million) to unseatSpirited Away, which set the mark 19 years ago. Given the trailblazing pace this movie is setting in Japan it seems inevitable it’ll break the record — question is by how much.
TheDemon Slayermovie released on 38 IMAX screens and a total of 403 theaters throughout Japan in October. The movie also debuts in MX4D and 4DX a day after Christmas.With the movie slated to releasein the US at an unspecified date in 2021 and the current state of theater-going due to COVID-19,it may be a whilebefore western audiences get to see what the hype is all about.
The box office numbers for this movie are substantial even by pre-pandemic standards, so one of the big questions is whether this movie will live up to the hype for fans outside of Japan. It’s also still up in the air when theater-going will open up once again in the U.S.
