Part one of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle has opened to 1.7 billion yen (around USD 12 million) at the Japanese box office, breaking the record for highest opening day collection set by 2020’s Mugen Train, according to reports.
The film, which is the first part of a trilogy covering the final arc of the anime series, hit theatres in Japan on July 18.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, the first film in the anime franchise, raked in a staggering USD 485 million at the end of its theatrical run in 2020.
A critical and box office success, Mugen Train is the highest-grossing anime movie of all time and the highest-grossing Japanese film at the global box office, with a total collection of over USD 500 million to date.
Infinity Castle is now shaping up to surpass Mugen Train — both commercially and reception-wise. Soon after its premiere in Japan, fans heaped praise on the film for its “insane” visuals, calling it the best Ufotable production ever.
Mugen Train had the highest opening weekend in domestic box office history for any foreign language film, and went on to become the second-highest grossing anime film in North America. It also garnered a 98 per cent critic score and 99 per cent audience score (with 10,000+ verified ratings) on Rotten Tomatoes.
The first part of the Infinity Castle movie trilogy follows Tanjiro facing off against Upper Rank Three demon Akaza to avenge Fire Hashira Rengoku’s tragic death.
In the movie adaptation of the Mugen Train arc, released in 2020, Rengoku died after a battle with Akaza, which left Tanjiro and others in shock. Years later, Akaza is back, and this time, he won’t be able to escape easily as Tanjiro will avenge the death of his mentor and inspiration.
Demon Slayer’s Infinity Castle arc movie is yet to have its world premiere. While it will release in some countries in August, the film will hit Indian theatres on September 12.