Chainsaw Man Carves Up $3.4M in Thursday Previews as Springsteen Strikes a Chord With $850K

The chainsaw started buzzing early. Anime just body-checked Thursday night, and the weekend horse race got a lot more interesting.

'Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc' storms previews

The Sony/Crunchyroll release pulled in a sharp $3.4 million from Thursday previews, with shows kicking off at 4 PM across roughly 2,500 theaters (the studio note read 2,5000, which is clearly a typo). That preview haul lines up with what 'Demon Slayer: Mugen Train' did back in April 2021, and that one went on to a $21.2 million three-day in the still-wobbly post-COVID market. For context, 'Mugen Train' also posted a $9.5 million Friday, which is... stout.

Analysts are pegging 'Reze Arc' for north of $11 million this weekend. The wrinkle: Blumhouse's 'The Black Phone 2' is in its second frame and is tracking just over $12 million, so the top slot could come down to how front-loaded anime fans get versus how well that horror holdover sticks.

What you are walking into

Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara, the movie centers on Denji, whose life spins when he meets Reze, a cheerful, adventurous girl who is not what she seems. After everything literally blows up, Denji finds himself in the nastiest, loudest fight he has ever had to keep the Bomb Devil from turning the world into confetti.

Early reception is glowing: it is sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from 18 critic reviews, with a 99% audience score. One early reviewer who caught a Wednesday screening stamped it 9/10 and raved about the action, visuals, and surprisingly punchy emotion, plus a soundtrack that kicks.

Springsteen steps up too

The other notable opener, 'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere', tuned up $850,000 on Thursday. Projections point to $9 million to $11 million for the weekend. The film digs into how Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded 1982's 'Nebraska' by himself at home on a four-track, a stripped-down landmark that stares straight at themes like murder and alienation. The doc also teases the inspirations and echoes running through it, from Terrence Malick's 'Badlands' to Gothic lit to American history.

By the numbers

• Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc (Sony/Crunchyroll): $3.4M Thursday previews; weekend projections over $11M
• Demon Slayer: Mugen Train comparison: similar preview; $21.2M 3-day; $9.5M Friday (April 2021)
• The Black Phone 2 (Blumhouse): targeting over $12M in its second weekend
• Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere: $850K Thursday; weekend projections $9M-$11M
• Rotten Tomatoes snapshot for Chainsaw Man: 100% critics (18 reviews), 99% audience

Short version: anime continues to punch above its weight, horror is hanging tough, and The Boss brought an acoustic knife to a gunfight and somehow won anyway. Pick your lane.