Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle has been making history since its North American premiere, and now, it has surpassed this summer’s blockbuster hit, Superman, directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet. The anime movie raked in $633,497,757 in global ticket sales as of this week, according to Box Office Mojo. That puts it firmly ahead of Superman, which is currently at $615,784,465 worldwide.
Beyond crushing the Supes, Infinity Castle has also become the highest-grossing Japanese movie of all time, a record previously held by the last cinematic entry in the franchise. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train earned over $500 million worldwide in 2020. Two other notable entries from celebrated filmmaker Makoto Shinkai follow: Your Name at number three, and Suzume at number five. Meanwhile, anime maestro Hayao Miyazaki claims spots four and six with Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron.
Some critics argued that Demon Slayer‘s previous success stemmed from being one of the few films to release during the COVID-19 lockdown, but Infinity Castle is proving that the franchise’s staying power is real, and its success is no fluke.
The myth of anime being an underdog in the face of Hollywood has long since been debunked, and Infinity Castle should be the final nail in the coffin. The only question now is how successful Sony and Crunchyroll’s next anime movie, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, will be when it releases on Oct. 24. Is anime truly outpacing superhero movies, or is Demon Slayer simply the rare phenomenon capable of dominating theaters?
Either way, there’s currently no telling when the next two films in the Infinity Castle trilogy will be premiering, as the previously reported release dates of 2027 and 2029 have been debunked.
