🔗 Share this article

Has Sony achieved another hit? Coming after the triumph of the blockbuster Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which earned in excess of $600 million at the box office, the latest Chainsaw Man film has surpassed the $100M milestone worldwide, reaching a worldwide gross of $108 million in its opening frame. This movie outperformed Black Phone 2 ($12.9M) in its second week in movie houses, as well as the film Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere with actor Jeremy Allen White (nine million dollars).

Impressive Domestic and Worldwide Results

Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara, the feature is a straightforward follow-up of the initial season of Chainsaw Man. It grossed $18.2M in the U.S. after a powerful five-point-two-million-dollar Saturday and $4.5 million Sunday. Internationally, the MAPPA-produced movie grossed nearly $15 million across 46 Sony markets, resulting in a global sum of $60.4 million through Sony distribution ($43.1M overseas, $18.2 million stateside). Sony has yet to announce its final earnings figure.

Comparisons to Past Successful Anime Films

Specialist agency a leading anime marketing group had earlier commented, contrasting the movie's expected results to Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which earned $34M in the U.S. and Canada in 2022 and opened to a comparable eighteen million dollars domestically. This movie's first weekend aligns with that benchmark, while its $108M international sum currently tracks just behind that movie's over $166 million total earnings. Although it’s unlikely Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc will achieve the box office of blockbuster Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, it remains a major victory for the distributor.

Marketing Strategies Drive Performance

Along with its affiliate the anime streaming service Crunchyroll have successfully utilized community involvement to propel their leadership at the anime box office. The Reze Arc promotional efforts kicked off at the Anime Expo in LA in July with a MAPPA panel, special events, and Pochita photo ops, and later included a major presence at New York Comic Con showcasing behind-the-scenes footage, fan raffles, and additional MAPPA panels. There was even an exclusive fan screening for moviegoers and popular figures too after the last day of the event.

Future Prospects

2025 is a significant period for Japanese animation, and for Sony, which has an additional animated movie debuting in the coming months in the film Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution in late this year.