Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Is Taking Over the World & Anime Is Getting Harder to Deny

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With its massive success, *Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle* is now one of the year’s biggest films, further demonstrating anime’s growing power at the global box office. The *Demon Slayer* franchise has been incredibly popular since its anime debut went viral. Interestingly, while the original manga by Koyoharu Gotoge was already well-liked, the anime initially didn’t attract much attention. It wasn’t until the first season was nearing its end that *Demon Slayer* really began to gain a huge fanbase.

The success of *Mugen Train* brought anime into the spotlight, becoming the highest-grossing film ever in Japan – an incredible achievement, especially during the pandemic. Now, *Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle* has surpassed even those records, proving that the initial success wasn’t a fluke. With this latest milestone, it’s clear that anime is poised to dominate the box office throughout the 2020s and beyond.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Becomes Fifth Highest Grossing Film in the World

With earnings now exceeding $757 million worldwide, *Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle* is the fifth highest-grossing film of 2025. It has outperformed major releases like *F1*, starring Brad Pitt, and DC’s *Superman*. This success is a significant development for animated films and represents a major achievement, as *Demon Slayer* has earned more at the box office than any other comic-based movie this year – and for a long time.

This year’s biggest box office hits so far are *Ne Zha 2* with $1.92 billion, *Lilo and Stitch* at $1.037 billion, *A Minecraft Movie* with $957 million, and *Jurassic World: Rebirth* at $867 million. *Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle* is rapidly gaining on the fourth-place film and is expected to climb further as it’s released in key markets like China. These numbers show a clear change in what moviegoers want, and suggest a new direction for the future of cinema.

Many of this year’s biggest box office hits have been based on animation, including anime. *Ne Zha 2* was a massive success in China before its international release, and *Lilo & Stitch* is a live-action remake of the beloved animated film, featuring a computer-generated Stitch. *A Minecraft Movie* relies heavily on green screen and animation, which helps explain the strong performance of *Demon Slayer*. Even another fantasy film about demon hunting, *KPop Demon Hunters*, gained popularity after streaming well throughout the summer and then performing at the box office.

What Does This Mean for Anime at the Box Office?

Recent animated movies have done well in theaters, showing that younger audiences (Gen Z and Alpha) are increasingly interested in anime. However, it’s still unclear what this means for the future of anime films in cinemas. The success of *Demon Slayer* after *Mugen Train* has already impacted how anime movies are released globally. They’re now released much closer to their Japanese debut, which has boosted box office numbers because audiences are excited about them while they’re still popular.

In the past, movie fans outside of Japan often had to wait a year or more to see a film released in their own countries. This long delay hurt ticket sales because excitement would fade, and spoilers would spread online. Plus, there wasn’t much incentive to go to the theater when you already knew what happened. Now, however, films are being released internationally just weeks after they premiere in Japan.

Anime studios are increasingly releasing films in cinemas, and this includes preview events where new episodes of ongoing TV series are shown first, like the upcoming *Jujutsu Kaisen* movie before Season 3 airs. More theatrical releases create opportunities for another anime to achieve a level of success similar to *Demon Slayer*. Ultimately, it raises the question: is this growing success due to the increasing popularity of anime in general, or is *Demon Slayer* simply a uniquely popular franchise?

No matter what the future holds, anime’s popularity is undeniable and it’s not going anywhere. We can expect to see even more anime films in theaters, leading to increasing box office success globally. What are your thoughts? Share them in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2025-10-06 21:41