Did Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Beat Avengers: Endgame? The Numbers Tell a Different Story
No, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle isn’t catching Avengers: Endgame’s $2.8 billion global haul—but after shattering records, it’s now poised to overtake Endgame in China’s pre-sales, and it’s doing it without a single ad.
Quick reality check up front: no, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is not catching Avengers: Endgame at the all-time global box office. Endgame is sitting on an absurd $2,799,439,100. Infinity Castle is at $670,176,164 so far. Different league. But in China? That is where things get wild.
China pre-sales are going off
Without a single ad pushing the pre-sale launch, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Infinity Castle - Part 1: Akaza Returns racked up roughly ¥20 million (about $2.8 million) in just five hours. That is the strongest early rush for an imported movie there since Endgame.
Momentum kept building: a little later, pre-sales had already topped $3 million. Analysts are now talking about a monster opening in China. One of the louder projections is eyeing a $200 million opening weekend. For context, Endgame did a little over $100 million on its opening day in China. If these numbers hold, Demon Slayer could outpace Endgame on that front inside the market.
'Eyeing $200M on opening weekend'
The billion-dollar ceiling is suddenly in reach
Infinity Castle has already smashed a bunch of records on its long rollout, and box office analyst Davi de Moraes is forecasting around $400 million in China alone. Do the quick math: add that kind of China run to the current $670,176,164 worldwide and you can see why people are saying the film could crack $1 billion globally once China is in the mix.
If it pulls that off, it would be the first anime feature ever to cross $1 billion worldwide. Considering how Mugen Train rewired expectations a few years back, the franchise doing it again would be a pretty jaw-dropping milestone.
Anime isn’t niche anymore. Everyone else noticed.
This is one of those moments where what used to be a fandom thing jumps the fence into the broader movie conversation. Between Mugen Train and Infinity Castle, these films are playing on the same field as the big Hollywood tentpoles, and studios are going to feel the heat to keep up. And yes, that surge is arriving alongside other buzzy releases like Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc.
- Title: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Infinity Castle - Part 1: Akaza Returns
- Studio: Ufotable
- Release dates: July 18, 2025 (Japan); September 12, 2025 (US)
- Global box office so far (pre-China): about $670 million
- China status: pre-sales hit ¥20M ($2.8M) in 5 hours with no advertising; passed $3M shortly after; some projections point to a $200M opening weekend and a $400M total in China
- Where to watch online: will stream on Crunchyroll when it hits digital
- Franchise notes: two more Infinity Castle movies are still coming; all previous Demon Slayer episodes and films are currently on Crunchyroll
Bottom line: Infinity Castle won’t topple Endgame’s all-time total, but China might hand Demon Slayer its biggest headline yet. If the opening lands anywhere near those projections, we could be watching anime’s first $1B movie in real time. Wild, but very much in play.