‘Demon Slayer: Mugen Train’ Is Coming To U.S. Theaters After Smashing Box Office Records In Japan
By Hoai-Tran Bui/March 17, 2021 1:30 pm EST
Aniplex of America and Funimation announced that they are teaming up for the North American release of Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, which is officially set to open in U.S. theaters on April 23.
Directed by Haruo Sotozaki, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is a sequel to the ongoing anime series which adapts the popular manga series by Koyoharu Gotouge which follows a young boy named Tanjiro who joins an elite group of demon slayers in order to find a cure for his sister after she is turned into a demon. The Demon Slayer anime debuted in 2019 and was an instant hit, praised for its sleek animation by studio ufotable.
The film acts as a bridge between the first and upcoming second season of Demon Slayer, which perhaps explains its sensational box office success: breaking the the $100 million milestone in Japan in just 10 days, and grossing nearly $400 million in the country alone, beating out Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away and Titanic for the all-time record. That’s the best reason I can give for its success (I can’t imagine regular Japanese moviegoers who aren’t fans of the anime flocking to buy tickets for the R-rated flick). And though it might irk me a little that an all-time classic like Spirited Away has been surpassed by a big-budget chapter in a popular ongoing anime, it doesn’t seem to be bothering Miyazaki, who in hilariously typical fashion, couldn’t care less.
Season 1 of Demon Slayer is available to stream on Netflix, so there’s still time to catch up before the film hits theaters on April 23, 2021.
