New ‘Demon Slayer’ Film Finishes Fourth At U.S. Box Office With $10.1M Haul

Crunchyroll-distributed Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village hit North American theaters over the weekend and finished in fourth place at the box office with an impressive $10.1 million haul.

Screening in just 1,774 theaters, the fewest of any film in the top eight, the latest Demon Slayer feature averaged an impressive $5,703 per theater. Only Creed III, the weekend’s top box office draw, did better.

Although the film’s opening fell well behind that of its predecessor Demon Slayer:  Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, which launched with a monstrous $21 million in April of 2021, the Swordsmith Village debut is a further demonstration of the drawing power that anime franchises have in the U.S.

It’s worth noting too that While Mugen Train was an entirely new feature based on the popular Demon Slayer series, Swordsmith Village is just a collection of episodes from that show remastered in 4k. It says a lot about the dedication of the franchise’s fans that they showed up in such strong numbers to see older content projected on the big screen.

Globally, Demon Slayer finished in third place despite only screening in 15 territories. The film grossed $15.7 million from offshore markets, bringing its total international cume to $44.2 million and its global total to $54.4 million.

Still holding strong in the North American top 10, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish grossed an estimated $2.7 million over the weekend, bringing its domestic total to $177.1 million. The film’s weekend take was an impressive figure for a feature in its 11th week in cinemas, especially considering Peacock just announced that the film will start streaming on its platform on March 10.

Meanwhile, PiB grossed another $4.7 million abroad over the weekend from 80 territories. Add that to its $2.7 million North American haul and the film raked in $7.4 million worldwide over the frame.

PiB’s worldwide global box office now sits at $453.5 million. With a Japanese release yet to come on March 17, it’s increasingly likely that The Last Wish will reach the $500 million mark before the end of its theatrical run.