Box Office Confusion: Demon Slayer’s Infinity Castle Reportedly Still Chasing Superman’s Global Total But Will Pass it Soon

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It’s clear that anime is becoming increasingly popular in cinemas worldwide. However, the speed of its growth is often discussed-and can sometimes be misleading. Starting Sunday afternoon, many fan accounts began sharing that Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle earned more money globally by its third weekend in U.S. theaters than Superman did throughout its entire time in cinemas.

Considering Superman didn’t perform well internationally, but Infinity Castle was a sure success in its home country and was leading box office numbers in the U.S., this explanation felt quite likely.

‘DEMON SLAYER: INFINITY CASTLE’ has surpassed ‘SUPERMAN’ at the global box office

— ScreenTime (@screentime) September 28, 2025

However, on Monday morning, Forbes reported that Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is expected to surpass the global box office earnings of DCU’s Superman either by the end of this week or within a few days. As of now, Infinity Castle has earned $605 million, while Superman has $615 million, but it’s predicted to overtake it shortly.

Following that, several online articles have surfaced, referencing data from Box Office Mojo and Comscore, stating that Infinity Castle has now earned over $620 million. However, checking Box Office Mojo just now, it shows a total of $606 million, and The Numbers indicates a slightly lower figure of $604 million.

What’s causing all the misunderstanding-and why is it happening? It’s probably not intentional dishonesty among fans. As Forbes pointed out, Infinity Castle is expected to be the highest-grossing comic book movie of the year. Maybe people are mistaking predicted earnings for confirmed numbers, or there’s confusion about currency conversions.

Issues like these highlight just how complicated accounting can be in the entertainment world-whether it’s happening domestically or internationally. For some, this complexity is intentional and serves a purpose-it’s not an error.

What Is Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Why Does It Matter?

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is the beginning of a three-part movie series adapted from a well-known manga. It picks up where a TV show left off, and you can watch that show on Crunchyroll, which is owned by Sony. The story follows Tanjiro Kamado (voiced by Zach Aguilar in the English version…), who becomes a demon hunter after a monster tragically kills his family.

I recently read in Deadline that this is the fourth Demon Slayer movie to come to U.S. theaters. The last one was released back in 2021, right before Sony Pictures bought Crunchyroll. So, this is actually the first Demon Slayer movie to be released under the Sony label. Because Crunchyroll is now Sony’s distributor, after it finishes playing in theaters, Infinity Castle won’t be available on Netflix – that’s where most Sony films usually stream at home. Instead, it’ll be streaming on Crunchyroll.

Forbes predicts that the trilogy as a whole will bring in $1.5-2 billion.

Anime vs. Studio Blockbuster

It’s clear that a $70 million opening weekend in the US is a huge success for Infinity Castle and Sony/Crunchyroll. Still, it only ranks as the seventh-highest opening weekend we’ve seen this year. The Conjuring: Last Rites, for example, opened with around $84 million, but its numbers fell sharply – down 69% in its second weekend. Infinity Castle managed to stay at number one for two weeks, which is great, but it experienced a 75% drop in viewership during that time.

Although Last Rites and Infinity Castle belong to different genres and target different readers, they were released only a week apart. Interestingly, in the U.S., the decrease in viewership from week to week was notably slower for both titles.

Currently, while the U.S. audience for anime is increasing, anime films are seeing most of their viewers during their opening days – even more so than horror movies. However, compared to A Minecraft Movie, which had the largest opening weekend of 2025 with $162 million, the drop in viewers during its second weekend was only 52%.

Anime is expected to keep gaining fans and might eventually become the most popular type of comic book adaptation globally. However, classic Hollywood movies still seem secure in theaters for the time being.

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Do you believe anime will become even more popular in the years to come? Could a series like Demon Slayer eventually become more well-known than a classic superhero like Superman? Share your reasons with us in the comments below!

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2025-10-02 14:57