It’s official, Haruo Sotozaki’s Demon Slayer has become the highest-grossing film in Japan to date. When the film was first released in Japan back in October, it had the biggest single-day gross income of $11.3 million, as well as having the biggest three-day opening weekend, with total income of $44 million. According to The Guardian, over this past weekend, Demon Slayer now has a total cumulative income of $313.7 million. This means it officially beat the previous record-holder, Miyazaki Hayao’s 2001 animated film Spirited Away, which made $305 million. Demon Slayer tells the story of a boy, Tanjiro, living in the remote countryside in early 20th century Japan. After his family members are killed by demons and his younger sister becomes one, he goes on a revenge mission.
How did Demon Slayer become Japan’s highest-grossing film? It could be due to the absence of Hollywood competition because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This year only two foreign films, Tenet and Parasite, are in the year’s box office top ten, while last year six foreign films were on the top ten list. This doesn’t take away the film’s popularity though, as it has quickly beat records in a matter of months that have taken years for past films. Not only is Demon Slayer the highest-grossing film in Japan, it very well could become one of the highest-grossing anime movies worldwide. Demon Slayer is produced by the Ufotable studio and distributed by Toho and Aniplex.
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