‘Demon Slayer’ becomes Japan’s highest grossing film

An animated film based on the blockbuster manga series “Demon Slayer” has become the highest-grossing film in the history of the Japanese box office, its distributors said Monday, ending the reign from Hayao Miyazaki’s “Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi” (“Spirited Away”) from 2001.

The film, a story of a teenage boy fighting human-eating demons, garnered 47 32,477 million as of Sunday and has attracted more than 24 million to theaters since its opening on October 16. , according to co-distributors Aniplex Inc. and Toho Co.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic limiting cinema audiences, the film had reached 32 32.12 million as of Saturday, surpassing Oscar-winning director Miyazaki’s film, which grossed 31.68 million. ¥ at box office sales.

Miyazaki’s film took 253 days to eclipse the 30 30 billion mark in box office sales, but “Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train” did so in just 59 days.

The film, directed by Haruo Sotozaki and the sequel to an anime television series aired in Japan last year, became the first film in the country to earn more than .000 10 billion in ten days after its release.

It surpassed “Titanic,” the successful 1997 American film about a romance aboard the ill-fated cruise ship of the same name, as Japan’s second highest-grossing film on November 30.

In mid-December, when the movie “Demon Slayer” was on track to break the “Spirited Away” record, Toho revised Miyazaki’s film sales from 8 30.8 billion to 68 31.68 million the film’s revenue when it was re-screened in the summer.

“Demon Slayer,” set in Japan about 100 years ago, is the story of a boy forced to fight demons after his family is killed and his little sister Nezuko becomes one. It is based on the Koyoharu Gotoge manga series that was released between 2016 and earlier this year.

The manga series, which is now a worldwide success, has been translated into 14 languages ​​and is available in 33 countries and regions, according to Shueisha Inc.

The film focuses on the efforts of hero Tanjiro Kamado, along with his sister and fellow demon slayers, to save the lives of passengers aboard the “Mugen Train”, which bears the name of the Japanese word for infinity, in which infinity of people have disappeared.

Its English-dubbed and subtitled versions will hit theaters in North America in early 2021, according to Aniplex. The film was screened in Taiwan on October 30 and earlier this month in Thailand.

The “Demon Slayer” boom has generated an economic impact of about 270 billion yen, based on an estimate by Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at the Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute, earlier this month.

In another boost from the “Demon Slayer” boom, the final volume of his book-shaped manga series went on sale earlier this month. Shueisha said 3.95 million copies were published as the first edition of the 23rd volume, with the cumulative number of all volumes, including digital sales, exceeding 120 million copies.

A new version of the story was this year’s bestseller in a ranking compiled by information provider Oricon Inc., while the opening theme of the series, sung by LiSA, remains one of the bestsellers.

Companies have also achieved the popularity of “Demon Slayer” through toys and other products, while the title of the series was also chosen as one of the fashionable words of Japan for this year.