An animated film based on the blockbuster ‘Demon Slayer’ manga series has become the top-grossing film in Japanese box office history, distributors said Monday, ending the reign of Hayao Miyazaki’s’ Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi ‘(‘ Spirited Away ‘) from 2001.
The film, a story of an adolescent boy battling man-eating demons, garnered ¥ 32.47 billion as of Sunday and has attracted more than 24 million to theaters since opening on Oct. 16, according to fellow distributors Aniplex Inc. and Toho Co.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic limiting movie audiences, the film had brought in 32.12 billion yen as of Saturday, surpassing Oscar-winning director Miyazaki’s film, which brought in 31.68 billion yen in box office sales.
It took Miyazaki’s film 253 days to exceed ¥ 30 billion in box office sales, but “Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train” only did it in 59 days.
The film, directed by Haruo Sotozaki and the sequel to an anime television series that aired in Japan last year, became the first film in the country to earn more than ¥ 10 billion within 10 days of its premiere.
It caught up with “ Titanic, ” the hugely popular 1997 American film about a romance aboard the ill-fated cruise ship of the same name, as the second-highest-grossing film ever in Japan on November 30.
In mid-December, as the movie “Demon Slayer” was on track to beat the “Spirited Away” record, Toho rescheduled sales of Miyazaki’s film from ¥ 30.8 billion to ¥ 31.68 billion through film proceeds when released in the summer was shown again.
Set in Japan about 100 years ago, “Demon Slayer” is the story of a boy who is forced to fight demons after his family is slaughtered and his younger sister Nezuko becomes one. It is based on Koyoharu Gotoge’s manga series published between 2016 and earlier this year.
The manga series, now a worldwide hit, is according to publisher Shueisha Inc. Translated into 14 languages and available in 33 countries and regions.
The film centers on the efforts of hero Tanjiro Kamado, along with his sister and fellow demon killers, to save the lives of passengers aboard the “Mugen Train”, named after the Japanese word for infinity, after which countless people are missing. .
According to Aniplex, the English dubbed and subtitled versions will hit cinemas across North America in early 2021. The film was shown in Taiwan on October 30 and in Thailand earlier this month.
The “Demon Slayer” boom has generated an economic impact of approximately ¥ 270 billion, based on an estimate by Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at the Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute, earlier this month.
As a further boost to the “Demon Slayer” boom, the final installment of the manga series went on sale in book form earlier this month. Shueisha said 3.95 million copies were published as the 23rd volume’s first edition, with the cumulative number for all volumes, including digital sales, exceeding 120 million copies.
A new version of the story was the bestseller this year in a rankings compiled by information provider Oricon Inc., while the series’ opening theme, sung by LiSA, remains a bestseller.
Companies have also been able to capitalize on the popularity of “Demon Slayer” through toys and other merchandise, while the series title was also chosen as one of Japan’s buzzwords for this year.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more important than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
