This weekend, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train” was finally released in the US. Although it was feared that the film would be at a disadvantage because it was rated R, which is rare for an animated film (those under 17 need to be accompanied by an adult), it turned out to be a huge hit, far exceeding the predictions. Before the film’s release, it was expected to gross around $8 to $10 million over the three-day weekend, but it actually doubled that figure to $19.5 million. This is the highest opening ever for a foreign language film.
In the rankings, it was second only to “Mortal Kombat” ($22.5 million), distributed by Warner Bros. However, “Mortal Kombat” was shown in 3,073 theaters, while “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train” was shown in 1,605, almost half that number. Also, “Mortal Kombat” had by far the largest advertising budget. It is said that “Mortal Kombat” spent 6 million dollars on TV spots alone, while “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train” spent less than 100,000 dollars.
