Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Ousts DC and Marvel from 2025 Box Office Top 10
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle just did the unthinkable, dethroning Superman at the global box office with a $617 million worldwide haul, according to The Wrap — clear proof 2025 belongs to anime heroes.
Well, this actually happened: Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle just nudged past Superman at the worldwide box office. I know, I had to double-check it too. Anime didn’t just show up to play in 2025 — it’s walking out with trophies.
The numbers (as of Sept 30, 2025)
Per The Wrap, Infinity Castle has reached $617 million worldwide, sliding ahead of DC’s Superman at $615 million. Marvel’s latest reboot, Fantastic Four: First Steps, is sitting further back at $521 million. For a little extra context, here’s where those three land right now, including IMDb scores:
- Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle — $617M worldwide; IMDb 8.5/10
- Superman (DC Studios) — $615M worldwide; IMDb 7.2/10
- Fantastic Four: First Steps (MCU) — $521M worldwide; IMDb 7.1/10
Why this is a big deal
On paper, Superman losing the global lead to an anime film would have sounded wild a few years ago. In practice? Fans aren’t shocked. Ufotable has been flexing outrageous animation chops for a decade, and the Infinity Castle arc is basically the most anticipated stretch of Demon Slayer’s story. This is the franchise many anime-only moviegoers will show up for.
Where this leaves Marvel and DC
Here’s the inside baseball part: Marvel hasn’t missed the global top 10 in a year since 2011. Even during the Eternals debate, the studio still muscled into the list. In 2025? Not a single Marvel title in the top 10 at the moment. Meanwhile, DC’s Superman is holding in 8th place right now, according to Box Office Mojo, but that grip is slippery with a few heavy hitters still inbound. Disney’s Zootopia 2, the mega-musical Wicked: For Good, and James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash are all waiting to take their swings. If they land the way they’re expected to, Superman could get pushed out of the top 10 entirely. If you told me in 2019 that anime and a couple of musicals would be body-checking both Marvel and DC at the global box office, I’d have laughed. Yet here we are.
The longer arc: anime’s climb wasn’t a fluke
This isn’t a one-off headline. Anime’s been building to this for years. Your Name crashed through barriers. One Piece Film: Red steamrolled 2022. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 traveled far outside the usual fan bubble. And Demon Slayer: Mugen Train didn’t just perform — it was the highest-grossing movie of 2020, period. Infinity Castle feels like the culmination of that momentum: a crowd-pleasing, visually bonkers, emotionally direct blockbuster that plays globally without translation issues.
The read
Superheroes aren’t gone, but the crown isn’t welded to their heads anymore. Anime’s delivering the big-screen spectacle and the gut-punch stories people are actually showing up for — and this time, it’s not just keeping pace with Hollywood’s biggest brands; it’s beating them. 2025 is the year anime didn’t just join the blockbuster club. It took the good seats and ordered dessert.