Chainsaw Man Leads American Cinema Earnings in Debut Weekend
Did Sony repeated their success? Coming after the triumph of the blockbuster Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which earned over $600 million at the box office, the new movie Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc has surpassed the $100M mark globally, reaching a worldwide gross of $108M this weekend. The film surpassed the horror sequel Black Phone 2 (almost $13 million) in its second weekend in theaters, as well as the music documentary Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere with actor Jeremy Allen White ($9 million).
Impressive U.S. and Worldwide Results
The work of director Tatsuya Yoshihara, the feature is a immediate sequel of Chainsaw Man’s first season. It grossed over $18 million in the U.S. after a powerful $5.2M Saturday box office and $4.5M Sunday take. Internationally, the produced by MAPPA feature earned $14.7 million across 46 global regions, pushing its worldwide total to $60.4 million under Sony (over $43 million international, $18.2M domestic). The studio has not yet revealed its complete box office tally.
Parallels to Past Successful Anime Films
Anime marketing agency an industry expert previously spoke, contrasting the film’s projected performance to the anime hit Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which earned $34M in the domestic market in the year 2022 and started with a comparable eighteen million dollars domestically. Reze Arc’s first weekend is in line with that benchmark, while its $108 million worldwide total currently tracks a bit short of the earlier film's $166.6M final run. Although it’s unlikely Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc will match the box office of smash success the enormous hit Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, it remains a huge win for the studio.
Promotional Campaigns Boost Box Office Dominance
Sony and its subsidiary the anime streaming service Crunchyroll have skillfully used fan engagement to propel their supremacy at the cinema for anime films. The movie's advertising push began at the Los Angeles Anime Expo in summer with a discussion featuring MAPPA, special events, and Pochita photo ops, and later included a significant involvement at NYCC showcasing behind-the-scenes footage, fan raffles, and more MAPPA sessions. There was even an exclusive fan screening for the public and popular figures too after the concluding day of the convention.
Looking Ahead
2025 stands as a significant period for animated films, and for the studio, which has one more anime film premiering this year in Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution in the month of November.
