‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle Arc’ Shatters North American Box Office Records, Fuels Crunchyroll Growth
Los Angeles, CA – Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle Arc, distributed by Crunchyroll, has become the highest-grossing animated film of the year in North America, signaling a major win for the streaming platform and the anime industry as a whole. The film’s success is expected to significantly benefit Crunchyroll’s streaming service, merchandising, and other platform facets.
The film is a production of Koyoharu Gotoge, SHUEISHA, Aniplex, and ufotable/Sony Pictures.
According to Crunchyroll representatives, the theatrical success is creating “a halo and momentum for the other parts of that flywheel, whether it’s merchandise, games, anime music or the streaming service itself.” To capitalize on this momentum, Crunchyroll offered a promotion in August allowing viewers to watch an entire season of the Demon Slayer series outside of a subscription, and is continuing that offer. “Our goal is to make sure these new viewers have an amazing experience. Hopefully, we can then introduce them to a few more shows they’ll enjoy - and then there’s a whole universe of fandom waiting for them,” a Crunchyroll spokesperson stated.
Crunchyroll expressed interest in securing exclusive streaming rights to Infinity Castle, stating, “We always love to give our members something unique, so we’d absolutely want to have that conversation with our partners.” However, the final decision rests with Ufotable, Aniplex, and the production committee.
The film’s performance is anticipated to draw increased competition from major streaming platforms like Netflix, amazon, and Disney, who have already recognized anime’s potential for subscriber growth. Crunchyroll remains confident in its position, asserting, “We’ve always said that’s good as the audience is already big, and as it grows, we feel strongly that we’re well-positioned to take advantage of that expansion. we feel very good about our place and strength in the ecosystem.”
Crunchyroll also confirmed plans to campaign for awards recognition for Infinity Castle, including Best Animated Feature at the oscars. “We think the movie is incredible – the animation, the story, the quality on all fronts. So yes, the fans absolutely deserve for the movie to be considered for awards. We’ll do our part to make sure it gets the right level of support to be considered in all of the categories it might very well be eligible for.”
