An animated tale populated by legions of carnivorous monsters might not sound like classic box office material, but that’s exactly what the latest Demon Slayer film proved to be.
This cinematic entry set new records for Japanese animation, racking up more than $70 million on its opening weekend in the United States and surpassing £535 million globally. To provide perspective, the animation landmark Ghost in the Shell, which debuted in 1995, made around £2 million worldwide.
Evolving From Niche Phenomena to Global Hero
In the intervening three decades, anime has journeyed from an niche cultural curiosity to a true lifeline during one of the worst autumn box office slumps in recent memory.
“Over the last eight years building this fanbase,” says an senior from a major anime streaming service. “Following the pandemic, that fandom has just persisted to expand.”
One of the factors to its success has been the slow building of a global audience for franchises like Demon Slayer, which features a successful TV series and a previous box office hit with 2020’s Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train.
The Globalised Reach of Japanese Animation
Anime first emerged in Japan during the 1950s, but its definitive world breakthrough moment in 1988 with Akira. This futuristic tale ushered in a darker, sophisticated brand of animation whose influence can be seen across contemporary culture.
Today, Demon Slayer represents anime breaking into Hollywood and cementing Japanese animation as a valuable source of intellectual property in an era where IP is king. Most anime start life as Japanese comics, providing decades of backstory for studios looking to spin them into major franchises.
Its new international reach means anime appears in unlikely places. Olympic athletes, Premier League footballers, and other athletes have referenced anime in their triumphs. Some observers have described the art form as “a lingua franca for young people all over the planet.”
“It forms young people’s self-expression,” states an anime expert based in Tokyo. “I think that really is driving this rise of anime, not just in the US, but worldwide.”
Economic Upsides and National Strategy
The spike in interest is also attributed to “Oshikatsu,” a phenomena of intense fanaticism supercharged by phenomena like South Korean pop music. Fans don't only watching; they are purchasing merchandise and posting their fandom online.
The Japanese government is investing heavily on anime as a key part of its “Cool Japan” plan. This cultural diplomacy initiative aims to boost the economy by leveraging hardcore fandom to drive cultural tourism. Leaders hope the strategy can bring in trillions of yen annually by 2033.
This represents a step change for a country historically protective of its culture. “The domestic market was large enough for a long time,” notes the Tokyo-based expert. “It was an secondary consideration to share this culture internationally.”
Streaming Wars and Upcoming Releases
In the landscape of anime streaming, giants like Netflix are significant players. The streamer states that the number of subscribers watching anime on its platform has increased threefold in the last five years, with voice-overs produced in dozens of languages to meet worldwide demand.
The future is packed with epic releases. New instalments in the Demon Slayer saga are in the works, but audiences will have to wait until 2027 and 2029. Before then, a real-world adaptation of One Piece and new seasons of other hit series are set for release.
The narratives are epic, but so are the economic rewards of anime’s seemingly unstoppable rise on the global stage.
