Cinema owners are enjoying a rare September surge as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie Infinity Castle stormed the box office this weekend, shattering records in both North America and abroad. The anime sequel, handled by Sony-owned Crunchyroll across most global markets outside Japan, far outpaced expectations with a stunning debut.
In the US and Canada, the film pulled in an estimated $70 million from 3,315 theatres, including a monster $33 million haul on Friday alone. That makes it the biggest opening ever for an anime film in North America, as well as Crunchyroll’s best release to date. It is also the strongest animated opening of the year so far and the largest September animated debut on record, even without adjusting for inflation.
