Chainsaw Man Dominates the U.S. Box Office in Opening Weekend
Has Sony repeated their success? In the wake of the box office performance of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which grossed over $600 million worldwide, the new movie Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc has surpassed the hundred-million-dollar threshold worldwide, hitting a international earnings of over $108 million during its debut. This feature beat out Black Phone 2 (almost $13 million) in its sophomore frame in cinemas, as well as the music documentary Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere featuring actor Jeremy Allen White ($9 million).
Impressive U.S. and Worldwide Earnings
The work of filmmaker Tatsuya Yoshihara, the film is a straightforward follow-up of Chainsaw Man’s first season. It grossed $18.2M domestically after a strong $5.2 million Saturday box office and $4.5M Sunday. Internationally, the produced by MAPPA feature grossed $14.7M across 46 global regions, pushing its worldwide total to $60.4 million via Sony ($43.1 million abroad, $18.2 million domestic). The studio has not yet revealed its final earnings figure.
Benchmarks to Other Anime Hits
Promotional firm White Box Entertainment previously spoke, drawing parallels between the movie's expected results to the popular film Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which made $34M in the domestic market in 2022 and debuted with a nearly identical $18 million stateside. Reze Arc’s first weekend matches that marker, while its $108 million worldwide total is now positioned just behind Jujutsu Kaisen 0’s $166.6 million final run. Even if it doesn't seem possible the Reze Arc movie will achieve the earnings seen by smash success the record-breaking Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, it remains a huge win for the distributor.
Promotional Strategies Boost Performance
The studio and its partner Crunchyroll have skillfully used community involvement to boost their leadership at the cinema for anime films. This film's advertising push launched at Anime Expo Los Angeles in July with a MAPPA presentation, unique experiences, and photo opportunities with Pochita, then continued with a major presence at New York Comic Con featuring behind-the-scenes footage, lotteries for fans, and more MAPPA sessions. Additionally, there was an exclusive fan screening for moviegoers and content creators as well after the last day of the gathering.
Looking Ahead
2025 is a big year for animated films, and for Sony, which has one more animated movie debuting in 2025 in the film Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution in November.