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Has Sony done it again? Following the box office performance of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which grossed over $600 million worldwide, the latest Chainsaw Man film has reached beyond the $100M mark internationally, hitting a international earnings of over $108 million during its debut. This movie outperformed the horror sequel 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).

Notable Domestic and Worldwide Results

Directed by director Tatsuya Yoshihara, the film is a direct continuation of the initial season of Chainsaw Man. It earned over $18 million domestically after a strong five-point-two-million-dollar Saturday and $4.5M Sunday take. Globally, the animated by MAPPA movie grossed nearly $15 million across 46 global regions, bringing its global earnings to $60.4 million through Sony distribution (over $43 million international, $18.2 million in the U.S.). Sony has yet to announce its final earnings figure.

Benchmarks to Other Anime Hits

Specialist agency a leading anime marketing group noted in prior discussions, contrasting the feature's anticipated earnings to the popular film Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which made thirty-four million dollars in the U.S. and Canada in the year 2022 and opened to a similar $18M domestically. This movie's first weekend matches that benchmark, while its $108M worldwide total presently stands just behind the earlier film's over $166 million final run. Even if it doesn't seem possible this Chainsaw Man film will earn the earnings seen by mega hit Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, this is still a major victory for the distributor.

Marketing Campaigns Drive Box Office Dominance

The studio and its partner the anime streaming service Crunchyroll have successfully utilized audience interaction to propel their dominance at the animated movie market. The Reze Arc advertising push kicked off at the Anime Expo in LA in July with a discussion featuring MAPPA, special events, and photo opportunities with Pochita, followed by a significant involvement at NYCC including never-before-seen content, audience giveaways, and additional MAPPA panels. Additionally, there was an private showing for enthusiasts for general audiences and content creators as well after the concluding day of the event.

Looking Ahead

This year marks a big year for animated films, and for the studio, which has an additional feature-length anime debuting in 2025 in the upcoming Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution in November.