NASHVILLE — “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle” carved out a place in box-office history this weekend as the Japanese anime film sliced straight to No. 1 — outpacing the horror sequel “The Conjuring: Last Rites.”
The movie takes place in a infinite mansion crawling with demons called “The Infinity Castle”. The Infinity Castle is a supernatural, alternate dimension fortress designed by Muzan Kibutsuji, the main antagonist in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. It appears as an ever-expanding structure of wooden rooms, halls, and bridges with warped gravity.
In this anime film, there are two types of characters demons and demon slayers. Demons are a race of powerful, man-eating, supernatural beings created by Muzan Kibutsuji, the Demon King. They are described with enhanced physical abilities like superhuman strength, speed, and rapid regeneration. Demons are also vulnerable to sunlight, which burns and destroys them. 
Demon Slayers are the chosen group of people who slay demons by cutting off their necks. Their job is to eradicate demons that threaten humanity, acting as secret protectors against these supernatural enemies. This duty involves slaying demons using Nichirin blades, which are blades specialized to slay demons. Demon slayers often apart of a larger Demon Slayer Corps organized to carry out these missions.
Some of the most recognizable characters in the movie among anime fans are Tanjiro Kamado, the main character and a water breathing and sun breathing user. Nezuko Kamado, Tanjiro’s sister and a human who was killed and turned into a demon by Muzan Kibutsuji but somehow is slowly becoming human once again.
Zenitsu Agatsuma, he is known for his intense fear and cowardly tendencies, but when terrified, he falls unconscious and his dormant power emerges, allowing him to fight with exceptional skill using Thunder Breathing.
It most recommended to watch all the Demon Slayer episodes that have released prior to the movie to understand the context of what’s going on. To watch Demon Slayer in the correct order, start with Season 1 Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc, then watch the Mugen Train Arc either the movie or Season 2 Part 1, followed by the Entertainment District Arc Season 2 Part 2, the Swordsmith Village Arc Season 3, and finally the Hashira Training Arc Season 4.
The movie follows the Demon Slayer Corps, including Tanjiro, as they are drawn into the Infinity Castle, Muzan Kibutsuji’s shifting stronghold. Separated from each other, the Demon Slayers face off against the Upper Rank demons in a series of desperate, high-stakes battles.
While some of the Corps’ members are overwhelmed, others tap into new powers to gain an advantage against their terrifying opponents. The battles set the stage for the final confrontation with Muzan and determine the fate of the long war between humans and demons.
The Sony-owned Crunchyroll release shattered expectations with a mighty $70 million debut in North America, according to Sunday estimates from Comscore. That haul marks the biggest domestic opening ever for an anime film, surpassing “Pokémon: The First Movie,” which opened with $31 million in 1999.
The film extended its meteoric run, scoring the biggest anime opening of all time with a $132.1 million weekend, according to Comscore. Crunchyroll and Sony rolled out across North America and 49 international markets, pushing the global total to $177.8 million.
“This performance by this particular film shows the unpredictability of the box office,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “If we were sitting here, let’s say a month or even a couple of weeks ago, would we be thinking, ‘Wow, a Japanese anime film would be number one at the box office, overperform and bring in $70 million?’ If you predicted that, kudos to you.” 
As predicted on Tuesday September 16, the film became not only number one in North America it is currently the number one movie in the world. Fair warning the movie will only be screening from Friday September 12 – Thursday September 18 and will NOT be streaming on any services such as Crunchyroll, Netflix, or Hulu. Although it may rescreen before the premiere of the second or third movie.
Although the dates have not been given, we know at least when the authors plan to air the second and third movies of the three-part trilogy. The first movie as we know was already released September 12, 2025. The second movie is released early or mid-2027. Finally, the third and last movie will be released in late 2030 or late 2031putting an end to the series altogether.
Critics such as Rotten Tomatoes rated the movie a solid 4.5 out of 5 ratings and on the Tomatometer and the Popcornmeter the movie earned itself a 98% rating from all critics.
Tomatometer approved critic Peter Debruge says, “Beyond the sheer inventiveness of the movie’s made-up martial arts, that leaves the tragic elements, which can be disarmingly effective in giving audiences reason to feel invested in the battles — battles that have only just begun.”
