The first "Demon Slayer" film has set a new record for the best U.S. opening for an anime film after adjusting for inflation.
Film tops weekend with US$70.6 million, breaking Pokémon: The First Movie's 26-year-old record
According to both Box Office Mojo and The Numbers, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle - Akaza Sairai, which is the first film in the trilogy of the same name, made $70.6 million in its first weekend in the U.S., becoming number one at the box office. This surpassed the previous record for the largest opening weekend for an anime film in the U.S., both unadjusted for inflation and adjusted for inflation using two different methods.
In 1999, the movie "Pokemon: The First Movie" broke the record for the largest opening weekend with $31 million in earnings. This was two days before the three-day weekend box office frame. Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate, $31 million in November 1999 is equivalent to $60 million in August 2025.
According to the Numbers website, the inflation rate for U.S. film ticket prices was higher than the overall CPI rate. This is because the average ticket price increased from US$5.08 in 1999 to about US$11.50 today. When adjusted for this steeper inflation rate, Pokémon: The First Movie's US$31 million opening in the U.S. is equivalent to US$70.2 million now.
On Friday, during its opening weekend in the U.S., The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle - Akaza Sairai film made US$32,984,325 in total, with US$11,4 million coming from Thursday preview screenings. On Saturday, it earned US$21,610,856, while on Sunday it made US$16,015,917 in 3,315 locations across the country.
How much did Demon Slayer - Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train make on its first day at the U.S. box office? It earned US$9.5 million. Additionally, during its opening weekend in 2021, it made US$22,515,000 in 3,073 theaters. At that time, it was the anime film with the second biggest U.S. opening weekend. However, it has since been surpassed by another film and is now in third place.
It is reported that the revenue generated by the anime film "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" during its preview and opening day surpassed that of "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" in 2022 by $10 million in the US.
On Friday in the United States and Canada, Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Aniplex started showing the first movie in cinemas, including IMAX and other big screen formats. It is available in Japanese with English subtitles as well as with an English dub.
Keizo and Koyuki have been portrayed in the English version of the movie by actors Channing Tatum and Rebecca Wang respectively.
On July 18th, the first movie was released in Japan with 443 screens (a new franchise record), including IMAX showings. Aniplex plans for this new film to be shown in more than 150 countries worldwide, which is greater than the previous global tour that included over 145 countries and regions.
In just 46 days, Demon Slayer - Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie became the quickest film in Japan to earn 30 billion yen, surpassing the previous record set by Mugen Train, which took 59 days to achieve the same feat.
In Japan, the movie has overtaken Titanic as the third highest-grossing film ever. It is predicted that it will soon surpass Spirited Away in earnings as well.
Sources: Box Office Mojo ( link ) ( link 2 ( link ) ), The Numbers ( link ) , U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ( link )
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