There’s no denying that anime is on the rise at the global box office. But just how fast it’s climbing remains a matter of debate—and sometimes, outright confusion. Starting Sunday afternoon, fan accounts were proclaiming that by its third weekend in U.S. theaters, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle had a higher worldwide total than Superman managed in its entire theatrical run.
Given that Superman struggled at the international box office, while Infinity Castle was a guaranteed hit in its domestic release and dominating the U.S. box office, this seemed more than plausible.
‘DEMON SLAYER: INFINITY CASTLE’ has surpassed ‘SUPERMAN’ at the global box office pic.twitter.com/y2xCMlq50j
— ScreenTime (@screentime) September 28, 2025
But Monday morning, Forbes reported that “by the end of this week, if not a few days from now, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is about to pass the DCU’s Superman at the global box office. Currently, it’s at $605 million to Superman’s $615 million, but it will pass it soon.”
Since then, more articles have appeared online, citing figures from Box Office Mojo and Comscore that claim Infinity Castle has now made more than $620 million. However, a quick check of Box Office Mojo at the time of writing, shows the $606 million, while The Numbers reports slightly less at $604 million.
A screenshot from the trailer to Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle – Sony Pictures Entertainment
So where is the confusion coming from—and why? It’s unlikely to be deliberate deceit within the fandom. After all, as Forbes already noted, Infinity Castle is destined to top the box office for any comic book movie this year. Perhaps projected numbers are being misinterpreted as actual numbers, or there’s some confusion based on exchange rates.
Discrepancies like this are a good reminder that entertainment industry bookkeeping is notoriously complex—both at home and abroad. Depending on who you are, this is a feature and not a bug.
What Is Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Why Does It Matter?
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is the first part of a trilogy of animated films based on a popular manga. It’s also the continuation of a TV series, which is available to stream on the Sony-owned Crunchyroll. It tells the story of Tanjiro Kamado (Zach Aguilar in the English dub…), who joins a demon killing organization after his family is killed by a monster.
A screenshot from the trailer to Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle – Sony Pictures Entertainment
As Deadline notes, “This is the fourth Demon Slayer movie to be released in U.S. theaters, the last one in 2021 before Sony Pictures acquired Crunchyroll. Hence, it’s the first Demon Slayer released under the Sony label.” And since Crunchyroll is Sony’s distributor, after its theatrical run, Infinity Castle will be streaming on that service and not Netflix, where most Sony films debut at home.
Forbes predicts that the trilogy as a whole will bring in $1.5-2 billion.
Anime vs. Studio Blockbuster
Obviously, a $70 million US opening weekend is a massive win for Infinity Castle and Sony/Crunchyroll. However, it’s only the seventh best opener so far this year. The Conjuring: Last Rites, opened with around $84 million, and in its second weekend dropped 69%. By comparison, while Infinity Castle held the number one spot for two straight weeks, it still took a 75% drop.
Superman in the trailer for James Gunn’s Superman – YouTube, DC
While they are different genres with different audiences, both Last Rites and Infinity Castle opened just a week apart, and with U.S. audiences the week-to-week drop-off was much more gradual.
For now, it seems that even as the U.S. anime audience grows, anime films are proving to be even more front-loaded than horror releases. But even compared to the movie with biggest opening weekend of 2025, A Minecraft Movie with $162 million, the following weekend it only lost 52% of the audience.
A screenshot from the trailer to Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle – Sony Pictures Entertainment
Anime will likely continue growing in popularity—and could even become the dominant form of comic book adaptation worldwide. But for now, traditional Hollywood blockbusters still look safe at the cinema.
What do you think? Is anime the future? Will Demon Slayer overtake Superman? Tell us why or why not in the comments!
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Dude. It only costs A FRACTION to make an Animated Film like Demon Slayer. So that 600 Million is almost ALL profit, while Superman is STILL in the Negatives……….
Keep in mind that we still don’t know for sure what the actual budget for Superman was.
We know what Gunn said it was, but there are still those tax documents saying it was over 300 million. And I wouldn’t put it past Gunn to be “less than truthful” about how much the movie cost to make. He doesn’t seem like the type whose ego can handle failure.