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The animated story of a boy battling human-eating demons who murdered his family brings in $ 313.7 million over two months.
Demon Slayer, the animated tale of a boy battling human-eating demons who murdered his family, shattered a nearly 20-year record to become Japan’s highest-grossing film, according to its distributor.
The film, based on a popular manga and animated television series, topped Spirited Away, the Oscar-winning mega-hit film Hayao Miyazaki from Studio Ghibli which opened in 2001, in just over two months.
Demon Slayer, with a full official title of Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie – Mugen Train, had grossed 32.47 billion yen ($ 313.7 million) against 31.68 billion yen ($ 306 million) for Spirited Away , according to data released Monday.
The film received an unexpected boost from the novel coronavirus, film industry watchers said.
People stuck at home due to social distancing clung to the manga comics and the TV series, then rushed to watch the film when it released in theaters on October 16. be filled to capacity.
“Even luckier, Hollywood studios had postponed the release of almost all of their major titles for the summer and fall, giving local films a head start,” the Japan Times reported.
The newspaper also attributed the film’s success to the manga’s “large built-in fan base”, claiming that nearly 120 million copies of Koyoharu Gotoge’s comic had sold in all formats as of December of this year. .
The film, with its message of resilience, also spawned a bonanza in merchandise – from toys to canned coffee – generating at least 270 billion yen ($ 2.61 billion) in business as of December 3, Toshihiro Nagahama said, Senior Economist at Dai- Ichi Life Research Institute.
Sony Corp, whose music unit is co-distributor, also received a boost from the film, which has opened in several Asian countries and will head to the United States and Canada early in the year. next year.
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