{"id":224015,"date":"2025-09-13T16:44:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T16:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/224015\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T16:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T16:44:09","slug":"infinity-castle-already-biggest-anime-opening-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/224015\/","title":{"rendered":"Infinity Castle’ Already Biggest Anime Opening Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAnime is back on top of the box office, with \u201cDemon Slayer<\/a>: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle\u201d earning $33 million across Friday and preview screenings from 3,315 locations. That\u2019s the biggest opening day domestic gross ever for an anime film, crushing the previous $10.9 million high-mark set by \u201cDragon Ball Super: Super Hero\u201d in 2022. Not only that, it\u2019s also already the biggest opening weekend ever for anime, surging past the $31 million record held by \u201cPok\u00e9mon: The First Movie \u2013 Mewtwo Strikes Back\u201d since 1999 (though \u201cMewtwo Strikes Back\u201d debuted on a Wednesday, playing for two full days before the traditional three-day frame).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cInfinity Castle,\u201d the first installment in what is meant to be a series-capping trilogy for the property, is playing in both subtitled and dubbed versions, plus it has a revenue boost from playing premium large format theaters. \u201cDemon Slayer\u201d did $6.4 million domestic in Imax theaters alone on Friday. Reviews are positive for the film and early audiences adore it, with moviegoer survey firm CinemaScore polling a robust \u201cA\u201d grade. But stateside grosses are also just the latest success for the anime epic. \u201cInfinity Castle\u201d has already earned more than $279 million globally, including more than $200 million in its native Japan. There, it still ranks as the No. 1 release eight weeks into release. It has become the country\u2019s third-highest-grossing release of all time.<\/p>\n

\n\tSony\u2019s anime distribution banner, Crunchyroll, is setting a new ceiling for anime in North America. Back in 2021, the label delivered one of the industry\u2019s first substantial theatrical performers after COVID lockdowns with \u201cDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba \u2013 The Movie: Mugen Train.\u201d That movie was a toast for theater owners at a $20 million opening \u2014 a number that \u201cInfinity Castle\u201d could triple. After \u201cThe Conjuring: Last Rites\u201d surged far above initial projections last weekend with a stunning $84 million debut, the September box office is performing well above the industry\u2019s modest expectations going into the month.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut beyond exhibitors, it\u2019s also a welcome result for Sony itself, which just finished a quiet summer blockbuster season. Anime tends to be front-loaded at the box office, as eager fans flock to the earliest screenings possible, so how the rest of the weekend shakes out depends on Saturday holds. (Current estimates are at $56 million, while some rivals are foreseeing north of $60 million.) \u201cInfinity Castle\u201d could even beat \u201cBad Boys: Ride or Die\u201d ($56.5 million) to become Sony\u2019s biggest domestic opener in over two years.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile \u201cInfinity Castle\u201d is the winner for the weekend, theaters are also welcoming several other new wide releases. There\u2019s \u201cDownton Abbey: The Grand Finale<\/a>,\u201d another play at putting a beloved TV property on the big screen, this one from Universal\u2019s specialty label Focus Features. Along with that, Lionsgate is debuting the grim Stephen King adaptation \u201cThe Long Walk<\/a>,\u201d while Bleecker Street has the comedy legacy sequel \u201cSpinal Tap II: The End Continues.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDownton Abbey\u201d has the edge for third place, earning $8.8 million from 3,694 sites across Friday and preview screenings. The big-screen continuation of the British period series is projecting $19.5 million for its opening \u2014 up from the prior entry \u201cDownton Abbey: A New Era,\u201d which debuted to $16 million in May 2022. Reviews have been strong on \u201cThe Grand Finale,\u201d and the film delivered for fans with a glowing \u201cA\u201d grade on CinemaScore.<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, Lionsgate is eyeing a fourth place bow for \u201cThe Long Walk,\u201d which paced itself to $4.76 million across Friday and preview screenings from 2,845 locations. Projections are now for an opening north of $11 million for the existential thriller, directed by \u201cHunger Games\u201d franchise steward Francis Lawrence. It\u2019s no breakout, but it\u2019s a substantial start against a lean production budget of $20 million. Reviews have been very positive, though moviegoers are more mixed, turning in a \u201cB\u201d grade on CinemaScore.<\/p>\n

\n\tBack up in second place, Warner Bros. and New Line\u2019s \u201cThe Conjuring: Last Rites\u201d cast out another $8.4 million on Friday, down 67% from its daily total a week ago. The supposed final chapter for Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson\u2019s paranormal dream team has already earned $113 million in North America, ranking as the 14th-biggest release of the year after just eight days in theaters.<\/p>\n

\n\tDisney\u2019s re-release of \u201cToy Story\u201d hit $1.1 million in 2,375 theaters. The 30th anniversary reissue of Pixar\u2019s first feature looks to round out the top five.<\/p>\n

\n\tFurther down, \u201cSpinal Tap II: The End Continues\u201d earned about $820,000 across Friday and previews in 1,919 locations. It will be lucky to debut in the top 10. The Bleecker Street-distributed sequel to the now canonized 1984 rock-doc parody \u201cThis Is Spinal Tap\u201d sees director Rob Reiner reunite with funnymen Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer for a follow-up that sends up the modern era of rocker farewell tours. Reviews just lean positive, though the target audience had a great time with an \u201cA-\u201d grade on CinemaScore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anime is back on top of the box office, with \u201cDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle\u201d earning…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":224016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[121474,90227,110054,171,12758,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-224015","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-demon-slayer","9":"tag-demon-slayer-kimetsu-no-yaiba-infinity-castle","10":"tag-downton-abbey-the-grand-finale","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-the-long-walk","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115197998878587173","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}