‘Demon Slayer’ Movie ‘Mugen Train’ Tops U.S. Box Office Charts
The first weekend screenings for the highly anticipated "Demon Slayer" anime movie "Demon Slayer - Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train" is so far the highest opening weekend earnings ever for a foreign-language film in the U.S. News sources reported that the film had earned USD $19,542,227 on its opening weekend alone. It also the third-ever high opening weekend in the country for an anime film.
Funimation and Aniplex America screened the film, and people can watch the movie in either English Dub or the Japanese language with English subtitles. It is ranked #2 in the box office, just behind the new "Mortal Kombat" film.
The last foreign film ever to receive the biggest earnings during its U.S. opening weekend was Zhang Yimou's "Hero", earning USD $17.8 million in 2004. In the case of anime films, the first anime film of the Pokemon franchise, "Pokemon: The First Movie" earned USD $31,036,678 on its opening weekend back in 1999. The second franchise film, "Pokemon 2000 - The Movie" earning USD $19,575,608.
"Mugen Train" was a massive hit in Japan, and box office gross sales have reached billions (in Japanese yen.) The movie immediately earned USD $100 million in just its first ten days of its Japanese premiere. The movie has surpassed almost USD $400 million in Japan alone, beating high grossing film screenings of Hayao Miyazaki's anime film classic "Spirited Away" and the Hollywood film "Titanic."
Reports have confirmed that there will also be 4DX and IMAX screens for the film. It is also confirmed that there will be digital and home video releases for the film. For digital release, it will be available on June 22 and will be distributed on Google Play, Microsoft Store, Vudu, PlayStation, Amazon, and Apple TV.
In "Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train," Tanjiro and the group have completed the rehabilitation training at the Butterfly Mansion, and they arrive in their next mission on the Mugen Train, where over 40 people have disappeared in a very short period of time. Tanjiro and Nezuko, along with Zenitsu and Inosuke, join one of the most powerful swordsmen within the Demon Slayer Corps, Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku, to face the demon aboard the Mugen Train on track to despair.