Related Posts
In a world that appears to be becoming increasingly globalized, one would like to think that a film made outside North America would be able to reign over all other films currently in theaters at the time of its release, at least no less easily than a film made within the nation. However, for the most part, such an event arely, if ever, happens, let alone on a regular basis. Even “Parasite”, which became the first foreign film to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture, only made a small total of $53 million in the United States and Canada, more than most foreign films but still not as much as the $71 million it received in its native South Korea. As acclaimed as the film was, it never reached a point where it was able to claim the #1 spot at the box office, further proving just how difficult it has been for non-American films to compete with those made domestically.
However, the most recent box office totals paint a very different picture, one that shows the rare occurrence of a foreign film claiming the top spot and earning more money over the three-day period than any other film. The film in question is the Japanese anime film “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train”, which received a total of $6.4 million over the most recent weekend, just barely enough to prevent its biggest source of competition, Warner Brothers’ video game action-adventure film “Mortal Kombat” (which earned $6.2 million over the same period) from taking the top spot. As impressive as this feat is, it’s even more remarkable considering that “Mortal Kombat” had actually beaten “Demon Slayer” for the #1 ranking the previous weekend (albeit once again within very close proximity of one another). While it’s not unheard of for the #1 and #2 films of any weekend to switch places the following one, it is significantly less heard for a film made outside the United States to move up in such a manner, making “Demon Slayer” a rare breed among films released theatrically in the United States.
Then again, looking at the performance of an animated film like “Demon Slayer” outside North America, its success probably shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise. While its current North American gross sits at around $35 million, its earnings everywhere else are over ten times that total, cumulating in worldwide gross that sits at just under $470 million. The majority of this revenue, just under $370 million, comes from the film’s native Japan, enough to allow the film to surpass the 2001 film “Spirited Away” and become the nation’s highest-grossing release of all time. Despite paling in comparison to its Japanese gross, what it has earned so far in America is nonetheless a major win for the anime; in fact, of all anime films released theatrically in the United States, only 1999’s “Pokemon: The First Movie” and its sequel, “Pokemon: The Movie 2000” have earned more than “Demon Slayer” (though depending on how the next few weeks play out, it’s possible for “Demon Slayer” to just barely surpass the latter Pokemon film).
While there is much to appreciate about “Demon Slayer” taking the #1 spot at the box office, it should be noted that the circumstances surrounding the film’s release in North America may have had a bigger impact on its earnings than one would like. Perhaps the biggest is the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; despite the growing number of people being vaccinated across the country, most theaters are still obliged to abide by strict anti-COVID procedures, resulting in the number of people allowed in a given auditorium at a given screening to be kept to a minimum as mandated by local governments. It’s certainly possible that “Demon Slayer” might’ve earned more if maximum capacity limits were eased to allow more people in during a given screening, but then again, because these limits are what’s keeping many major domestic films from coming out at the moment, there’s a very strong chance that “Demon Slayer” would not have been able to top the box office had it not been for the absence of notable Hollywood productions.
Another area of concern for “Demon Slayer” is how much ticket sales have dropped in comparison to the previous weekend. Whereas the film even being an animated production was able to earn just over $21.1 million in its opening weekend, the following weekend’s $6.4 million gross meant a drop of almost 70% from what it had earned just over a week prior. Although the per-theater average still remains fairly respectable – currently showing at 1,905 theaters, the film was able to earn $3,359 per screen – the fact that it received so much less than the previous weekend does bring its able to generate revenue in the long term into question, as a drop of over 60% is rarely considered desirable for any film.
Despite these concerns however, there seems to be very little fear among industry analysts of the film underperforming, especially when it has already earned so much outside the United States. In fact, the success of “Demon Slayer” in Japan not only demonstrates the nation’s ability to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, but also proves that audiences are still willing to return to the box office whenever it is completely safe to do so. Originally released in Japan on October 16th of last year, the film came out at a time when Japan was not yet certain that it had fully contained the pandemic, forcing its theaters to adopt strict public safety measures that would hopefully reduce the spread of the virus as much as possible. With these measures including maximum capacity limits, one would think that it would be difficult for a film to earn a total anywhere near what it would be able to gain under normal circumstances. “Demon Slayer” going on to become Japan’s highest-grossing anime is impressive enough, but to do so in the midst of a global pandemic that still rages on in many countries is practically unheard of.
Will the North American box office see similar success any time soon? Nobody knows for sure, but with films like “Godzilla vs Kong” performing as well as they are at the moment, the possibility is by no means out of the question. With so many people being forced to stay in their homes for so long, there is a great demand among these people to go out and see whatever’s playing on the big screen. With many theaters starting to ease restrictions and many studios preparing their films for big theatrical releases, there’s a decent chance that the time for mass theatrical viewing is not too far off in the future.
