On November 17th, Sony Group’s distributor Aniplex and Toho announced that as of November 16th, the global box office of the Japanese animated film “Demon Slayer: Infinite Train Arc” had reached 106.3 billion yen (approximately $6.75 billion), setting a record as the first Japanese film to surpass 100 billion yen in global box office. The film has also secured a spot in the top five global box office rankings for 2025.
The animated film “Infinite Train Arc” is the second theatrical installment of the “Demon Slayer” series, serving as the prelude to the final trilogy of the massive battle in the manga. The story revolves around Tanjiro Kamado embarking on a journey to find a way to turn his sister back into a human after she has turned into a demon. The film continues the series’ signature blend of “passion and tragedy,” as Tanjiro and the “Hashira” along with other members of the Demon Slayer Corps engage in a decisive battle in the Infinite Train.
According to reports from Nikkei Shimbun, since its release on July 18th this year, the film has enjoyed both critical acclaim and strong box office performance. In terms of domestic box office in Japan, the film has amassed a total of 26,045,587 viewers in the 122 days since its release, grossing 37.9 billion yen (approximately $242 million), surpassing the impressive record set by its predecessor “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” during the pandemic and even surpassing Studio Ghibli’s 2001 film “Spirited Away,” with box office numbers showing a continuous upward trend.
Aniplex and Toho announced on August 17th that the film has been released in 157 countries and regions outside Japan since August, including North America and premiered in China on November 14th. As of November 16th, it has attracted 89.17 million viewers globally and garnered a total box office of 68.4 billion yen. With the addition of the domestic box office in Japan, the total box office exceeds 106.3 billion yen, marking it as the first Japanese film to break the 100 billion yen mark in global box office.
Despite tense relations between China and Japan and the sluggish economic situation in China, “Demon Slayer: Infinite Train Arc” sparked a wave of enthusiasm in China following its release on November 14th.
Data from the professional version of Maoyan in China shows that the film raked in over 400 million yuan in box office revenue within five days of its release in China, and even before its premiere, it broke the record for pre-sale box office with 181 million yuan. According to reports by Nikkei Chinese Network, a woman influencer expressed being deeply moved by the pure love story, stating, “In a cinema in Shanghai, the film started airing past midnight on November 14th, and despite the late hour, many passionate fans still flocked to see it.”
However, on the same day when Japanese pop culture dazzled in Chinese cinemas, real-world alerts about China-Japan relations surfaced. In stark contrast to the fervent reception on screen, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a so-called “safety reminder” against Japan on November 16th.
Recently, following Japanese Prime Minister Kanichi Hayashi’s remarks on Taiwan, the Chinese Consul General in Osaka, Xue Jian, posted a shocking message on social media, saying, “For the unwelcome intruders, their dirty heads should be cut off without hesitation. Are you prepared?” In response, some within the Japanese government have advocated for Xue to be listed as an unwelcome person.
As tensions between Japan and China escalated, China issued travel and study warnings for Japan, with the Japanese government stating that China’s travel warning is “inconsistent” with the agreements between the two countries.
According to reports from Dahebao on the 18th, under the official pressure from the Chinese authorities, the box office of the film “Demon Slayer: Infinite Train Arc” has seen a continuous decline for three days. On November 17th, the box office for the film was 25.39 million yuan, a decrease of 64.6 million yuan from the previous day. There were even reports suggesting that due to the film being boycotted, over a million ticket refunds were processed in China.
Furthermore, there have been reports from Chinese cinemas that several Japanese films have either been withdrawn or had their release postponed, including but not limited to “Cells at Work,” “Crayon Shin-chan: My Moving Story! Cactus Large Attack!,” “Yesterday’s Youth,” and “Exit No. 8.” The currently screening “Demon Slayer: Infinite Train Arc” may also be pulled ahead of its original schedule to end on November 20th.
Chinese self-media platform “Light and Shadow New World” expressed in an article, “If ‘Demon Slayer’ ends its run on November 20th, it is harming ourselves to boycott Japanese films.”
The analysis suggested that in order to protect domestic films, China has always imposed a limit of 36 imported films per year. Among these 36 restricted films, there are “special films” (usually referring to 3D films, specially selected for China) and “batch films” that have emerged.
From information on social platforms, it’s known that the official account of “Demon Slayer” is registered under Maoyan, suggesting that Maoyan is likely the company that purchased the rights. If the film ends its run on November 20th after the key expires, Maoyan will no longer have additional box office income post that date, and the profit-loss situation will depend on the cost of acquiring the rights. The China Film Group, responsible for the film’s introduction, will also face losses from the lack of follow-up distribution fees.
The most affected will be the cinemas. Data shows that “Demon Slayer” has been a major contributor to mainland box office numbers since its original release, with a screen proportion of 36.6% and a box office ratio of as high as 68.7%. Ending the run of “Demon Slayer” will not generate more box office revenue for other films and will only result in lower overall box office income for cinemas.
Additionally, the release of “Crayon Shin-chan” in China, originally scheduled for December 6th and already shown in Japan on August 8th, and “Cells at Work,” which premiered in Japan last December, are anticipated to be batch films bought by China (imported films purchased at reduced rates, previously screened overseas). This means that delaying the release of these two films in China will not impact the Japanese producers since they have already secured the copyright fees from China. Therefore, it’s a case of “money paid, but the film cannot be released.”
As for the currently popular “Demon Slayer: Infinite Train Arc,” according to information from insiders, the film was bought out by a mainland company at a cost of 70 million yuan. If the film is pulled ahead of schedule, the local distributor will be affected. In addition, after reaching the break-even of 370 million yuan in box office revenue, the Japanese producers will participate in profit-sharing.
In light of the news about the withdrawal of Japanese films, “Demon Slayer: Infinite Train Arc” has repeatedly trended on Chinese social media platform Weibo. Chinese netizens have diverse opinions on the withdrawal, with some stating, “If it needs to be withdrawn, then let it be! Unconditional support for my country! Remember history,” while others are anxiously pleading, “I haven’t seen it yet, don’t pull it! Wait for me to finish!”; “This is a positive film, how can it be withdrawn! I still want to watch it for the second or third time”; “If you plan to watch it, you better hurry, don’t wait until it’s really taken down later.”