The Box Office Number Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Must Hit to Claim the Animation Crown

Anime cinema is having a wild year. 'Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1' is smashing records at home, piling up money overseas, and now sits on the throne as the top-grossing Japanese movie ever. But there is a new monster in the room: China’s 'Ne Zha 2', which is on a different financial planet. Here’s where the numbers actually stand, why the gap is massive, and why the next two 'Demon Slayer' films could still make this a real fight.

Where the money is right now

'Infinity Castle Part 1' has pulled in about $730 million worldwide so far, and yes, it’s still adding to that total. It’s not just big for anime; it’s big, period. In Japan, it’s cleaned up to the point that it’s now the highest-grossing Japanese movie of all time and has shattered a stack of local records along the way.

On the other side, 'Ne Zha 2' — the 2025 sequel to the 2019 hit — opened in January and took off like a rocket. Reviews have been strong, word of mouth has been even stronger, and the numbers are bonkers. Depending on which tally you look at, it’s sitting around $2.15–$2.2 billion worldwide and has been busting records in China and beyond.

• Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1 (via Box Office Mojo): domestic $133,886,032; international $596,100,000; worldwide $729,986,032
• Ne Zha 2 (via Box Office Mojo): USA $23,322,209; international $1,879,015,124; worldwide $2,150,000,000 (some reports round that up to about $2.2 billion)

Quick note on those categories: Box Office Mojo breaks out the U.S. number explicitly for 'Ne Zha 2' and lists the rest as international. The point is the same either way — almost all of 'Ne Zha 2'’s haul is from outside the U.S., and it’s gigantic.

The gap is real (and huge)

If you’re doing the math, 'Infinity Castle Part 1' would need roughly another $1.47 billion to catch the high end of 'Ne Zha 2'. That is not happening off Part 1 alone. But Part 1 has still muscled its way into the global conversation: it currently ranks as the 32nd highest-grossing animated film worldwide, sliding past heavy hitters like 'Big Hero 6', 'Moana', 'Kung Fu Panda', 'The Incredibles', and 'Ratatouille'. That’s not nothing.

About those next two movies

Here’s where it gets interesting. 'Infinity Castle' is a trilogy. Part 1’s box office has slowed (as all movies do), but Parts 2 and 3 are still coming, and they adapt the rest of the manga’s finale. 'Mugen Train' set the template for Demon Slayer’s theatrical dominance, and 'Infinity Castle Part 1' kept the heat on. With the endgame ahead, Studio Ufotable has every reason to go even bigger — more spectacle, more emotion, more reasons for fans to show up opening weekend (and then again with friends).

There’s real competition worldwide right now, but those last two chapters are the franchise’s wild cards. If they land, Part 2 and Part 3 could outgross Part 1 individually — or at least keep the brand’s momentum rolling hard enough to make this a trilogy-sized assault on the leaderboard.

Big picture

Demon Slayer is helping push anime movies further into the global mainstream. With about $730 million already in the bank for Part 1 and two more films on deck, the idea of catching 'Ne Zha 2' feels ambitious… but not delusional. The bar is sky-high, and 'Ne Zha 2' has a massive head start, yet this franchise has a habit of clearing bars people think it can’t. Tanjiro and the Hashira aren’t out of this race.

Where to watch in the meantime: the 'Demon Slayer' anime is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Do you think 'Infinity Castle' can eventually run down 'Ne Zha 2'? Drop your prediction below — optimistic math welcome.