Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie smashes box office records after Japan release
Tanjiro's return has proved incredibly popular.
The first Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle arc movie, Akaza's Return, has absolutely smashed box office records in Japan following its release last week.
While international audiences, including those in the UK and US, will have to wait until September to see the first instalment of the movie trilogy, Japanese audiences have been flocking to see Tanjiro back in action.
According to a press release from Aniplex (via Crunchyroll), the movie broke every opening weekend box office record in the country, as well as the single-day box office revenue record, after its release on Friday 18th July.
The single day box office record came on Sunday 20th July, with the film bringing in 2.03 billion yen (£10.2 million) on that day.
The Sunday takings also secured the movie as having the highest-grossing three-day opening weekend of all time in Japanese cinemas, bringing in 5.52 billion yen (£27.7 million) from Friday to Sunday.
Across its opening four days, the film reportedly brought in 7.31 billion yen (£36.7 million).
Currently, the movie is also second highest grossing movie of 2025 in Japan, behind Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback’s (although it looks on track to take the top spot soon).
A statement from Demon Slayer's official X account read: "The movie "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" Infinity Castle Arc Chapter One: Akaza's Return attracted 3,843,613 viewers (with box office revenue of 5,524,298,500 yen) in its first three days of release, and 5,164,348 viewers (with box office revenue of 7,315,846,800 yen) over four days, including Monday and a holiday, with a tremendous number of people coming to watch. We sincerely thank each and every one of you who visited the theatre."
The box office records were previously held by the last Demon Slayer movie, Mugen Train, which opened in October 2020 in Japan – when cinemas were at half capacity due to the pandemic.
Akaza's Return is set for release on 12th September in the UK, with another two Demon Slayer movies planned to see out the franchise.
The anime follows Tanjiro, who becomes a demon slayer after his family is slaughtered and his younger sister is turned into a demon. Before the trilogy, the story spawned four widely-praised seasons.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle is coming to UK cinemas on 12th September. Stream episodes on Crunchyroll. Sign up to Crunchyroll today for as little as £4.99 or start your 7-day free trial.
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Authors
Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
