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Has Sony repeated their success? In the wake of the box office performance of the blockbuster Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which brought in over $600 million at the box office, the new movie Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc has surpassed the hundred-million-dollar milestone internationally, reaching a worldwide gross of $108 million during its debut. The film surpassed Black Phone 2 ($12.9 million) in its second weekend in cinemas, as well as the music documentary Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere featuring Jeremy Allen White ($9M).

Strong U.S. and Worldwide Performance

Helmed by director Tatsuya Yoshihara, the film is a direct continuation of the initial season of Chainsaw Man. It earned $18.2 million in North America after a powerful $5.2 million Saturday box office and $4.5M Sunday take. Overseas, the animated by MAPPA film grossed $14.7M across 46 Sony markets, pushing its worldwide total to over $60 million through Sony distribution (over $43 million international, $18.2M in the U.S.). The studio has not yet revealed its complete box office tally.

Parallels to Previous Successful Anime Films

Promotional firm White Box Entertainment had earlier commented, comparing the movie's expected results to Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which earned $34M in the North America in 2022 and debuted with a comparable eighteen million dollars domestically. This movie's first weekend is in line with that marker, while its $108 million worldwide total is now positioned a bit short of Jujutsu Kaisen 0’s $166.6 million total earnings. Even if it doesn't seem possible this Chainsaw Man film will match the earnings seen by blockbuster Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, this is still a significant success for Sony.

Promotional Strategies Drive Performance

Along with its affiliate Crunchyroll have effectively leveraged community involvement to boost their dominance at the cinema for anime films. The movie's promotional efforts began at Anime Expo Los Angeles in July with a discussion featuring MAPPA, exclusive activations, and Pochita photo ops, and later included a significant involvement at NYCC featuring exclusive clips, lotteries for fans, and further MAPPA discussions. Moreover, organizers held an special preview for fans for the public and content creators as well after the final day of the convention.

What’s Next

This year marks a major time for animated films, and for Sony, which has another animated movie releasing this year in the upcoming Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution in late this year.