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Can Sony claim to have repeated their success? Following the box office performance of the hit anime Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which brought in over $600 million worldwide, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc has surpassed the $100 million threshold globally, hitting a international earnings of over $108 million this weekend. This movie outperformed the horror sequel Black Phone 2 (almost $13 million) in its sophomore frame in cinemas, as well as the film Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere featuring Jeremy Allen White ($9 million).

Impressive Domestic and Worldwide Results

Helmed by director Tatsuya Yoshihara, the movie is a straightforward follow-up of the debut season of the Chainsaw Man series. It earned over $18 million in North America after a strong $5.2M Saturday earnings and $4.5M Sunday. Globally, the produced by MAPPA film earned $14.7M across 46 Sony markets, resulting in a global sum of $60.4M via Sony ($43.1 million overseas, $18.2 million domestic). Sony has yet to announce its final earnings figure.

Benchmarks to Previous Blockbuster Anime Movies

Specialist agency White Box Entertainment noted in prior discussions, comparing the feature's anticipated earnings to the popular film Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which made $34M in the North America in 2022 and started with a comparable eighteen million dollars stateside. The new film's first weekend is in line with that marker, while its $108 million international sum currently tracks slightly below Jujutsu Kaisen 0’s over $166 million final run. While it is improbable this Chainsaw Man film will earn the numbers of mega hit the enormous hit Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, this is still a significant success for the distributor.

Marketing Efforts Boost Performance

Sony and its subsidiary the anime streaming service Crunchyroll have successfully utilized audience interaction to boost their leadership at the animated movie market. The Reze Arc promotional efforts began at Anime Expo Los Angeles in July with a MAPPA panel, unique experiences, and Pochita photo ops, then continued with a significant involvement at NYCC featuring behind-the-scenes footage, fan raffles, and further MAPPA discussions. There was even an private showing for enthusiasts for general audiences and popular figures too after the last day of the event.

What’s Next

2025 is a big year for Japanese animation, and for the company, which has another anime film releasing this year in the film Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution in late this year.