The Japanese box office has just crowned a new champion. Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train, after keeping a steady hold on 2020 among its competition, just made the final push into legendary territory, with its overall earnings placing it firmly in the country’s top spot of all time. This comes only a short time after the successful anime movie overtook James Cameron’s Titanic in the country.
At the equivalent of $313.7 million USD, Demon Slayer‘s total earnings have officially eclipsed those of Japan’s previous top earner, Hayao Miyazaki’s classic animated film Spirited Away, who had kept a steady stream even to this day which topped out at $305 million. Demon Slayer made the final push during the December 26-27 weekend after an already overwhelmingly successful year. Blasting past $100 million in just 10 days after its release, it was clear from the outset that this film from the wildly popular series would be something special.
Releasing on October 16th, the anime film began breaking records left and right from day 1. Opening day, opening weekend, and monetary milestones all quickly racked up for Demon Slayer, before it finally set the all-time record in only 73 days. Even despite the COVID-19 restrictions in place, which Japanese audiences have been dutifully obeying, no goal seemed unreasonable for the plucky hugely popular franchise.
Anyone who’s been paying even passing attention to Japanese media over recent years has most likely heard the name Demon Slayer more than a few times. After its first appearance as a manga in 2016, its popularity quickly blew up. From the manga itself to an anime series, and even a stage play, audiences ate up all the content they could get, to the point where many fans even attempted to make a pilgrimage up a mountain featured in Demon Slayer, much to the dismay of the local town authorities.
Some may suggest that the pandemic may not have hindered Demon Slayer‘s success, and may in fact have aided it to a degree. Japan has been one of the countries to have taken the virus very seriously, which aside from keeping things relatively under control in the territory, has also limited the number of films being shown in theaters. So while there were certainly restrictions in place, audiences were bound to flock to any showing that was deemed safe. The fact that one such showing involved one of the most popular franchises in the country likely aided things in that way.
But it’s also difficult to deny that Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train deserves its success. Limited choice can easily drive sales, but even under those circumstances, no film would set records like this if audiences didn’t genuinely and specifically want to see it. Demon Slayer has its own captivating story and lore, drawing in fans easily on its own. So congratulations to the film and everyone behind it, and here’s to an ever-growing popularity in the future.
Source: Variety
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