Those who have been paying attention to the anime industry have likely been following the saga of Demon Slayer quite closely. Released in October 2020, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train was a sequel film to the hit 2019 anime and proceeded to do well financially at the Japanese box office. Not only that, it seems that following the worldwide release, the film has now dethroned Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away to become the #1 Japanese film worldwide.

It's not a huge surprise either, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train dominated the theater industry in Japan, selling approximately 27.45 million tickets and raking in 37,776,680,150 yen, about 360$ million U.S. dollars, overall. The film opened in Imax on October 16 in Japan and went on to have the highest box office numbers for that weekend globally at about 4,623,117,450 yen or 43 million U.S dollars.

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Since leaving Japan, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train has spread to other countries, such as Taiwan and Vietnam, and has earned approximately $399.18 million U.S. This means the film has out-earned even Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, an acclaimed Japanese film that earned $383,397,782 U.S. with its own worldwide release in 2001.

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train has had no small amount of critical acclaim, with praise coming in from all over for everything from the film's animation quality to the voice acting. It was also submitted to the 93rd academy awards for the category of Best Animated Feature Film. While it's impossible to say precisely why Demon Slayer: Mugen Train has done so well, there are a few contributing factors. The first of which is that Japan has just recently gotten through its own lockdowns for the Coronavirus, making Demon Slayer one of the first big movies to premiere after a prolonged period of shutdown.

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train also has the benefit of being a follow up to a very popular anime, which no doubt encouraged a lot of fans to go see the feature film. Of course, the biggest factor seems to be that the film is just really good, with rave reviews coming in from all over the world and a reputation that has spread like wildfire.

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train has been so successful that a sequel has already been confirmed and is in the works even now. While the chances of breaking that worldwide record again are no doubt slim, the follow-up will hopefully be just as high in quality and fans will continue to enjoy watching their favorite series find a worldwide audience like never before.

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is now playing in theaters.

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Source: Anime Marvel