This is something that I would have never seen coming: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train set the record for the most theatrical earnings from a foreign language film in American history.
Living in Japan, I never estimated just how popular the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba series was internationally. Sure, it is massively huge here in Japan, but I never knew about its popularity in the States. I knew it was, but not how much!
Demon Slayer Mugen Train released to American theaters this past weekend, and it took the number two spot in the box office, only being beaten out by the new iteration of Mortal Kombat. The film earned a staggering estimate of $19.5 million dollars and has an estimated reach of $12,188 per theater earned. This is definitely something good considering it's an animated film, in a foreign language, and rated R. If you have people in your life who say that animation from Japan can't make a dent in American box offices, show them this.
In retrospect, the film in Japan earned a total of $100 million in the first ten days, so the fact that it made one-fifth of that as an international release is mind boggling.
Demon Slayer Mugen Train just released in America, so I think it's safe to say that the film will continue to make a pretty penny for the studio. I am really interested to see just how much it ends up earning after it's run.
