Grossing over 10 billion in 8 days: The underlying logic behind "Demon Slayer" setting the Japanese box office on fire for the second time.
The Japanese film market has been completely crazy about Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Swordsmith Village - Chapter 1: Akaza's Return (hereinafter referred to as To the Swordsmith Village).
What does it mean that the occupancy rate at the midnight show on the opening day was almost 100%? What does it mean that it rewrote three Japanese film - history records for opening - day box office, single - day box office, and opening - weekend (the first three days of release) box office in just one weekend? What does it mean that the box office exceeded 10 billion yen in just 8 days after its release?
To put it this way, the last time we saw such a phenomenon - level project was Nezha 2 during this year's Spring Festival movie season.
This explosion of the "box - office demon slayer" not only swept across Japan but also reached the other side of the ocean. The Hollywood authoritative media Deadline also reported on its first - week box office.
We have our "box - office magic child," and Japan has created its own "Demon Slayer myth."
The "Record - Maker" in Japanese Film History Returns
One word can describe the popularity of To the Swordsmith Village in Japan - ticket - grabbing.
Cinemas are full during weekdays, if you want to buy tickets for GT IMAX, remember to become an advance - purchase member of the cinema first. A large number of cinemas' tickets are sold out as soon as they go on sale. This is the current popularity situation of this animated film in Japan. Driven by the huge enthusiasm of the public, a spectacle similar to the screening arrangement of Nezha 2 during the Spring Festival in China has even appeared in Japanese cinemas. According to Japanese media reports, many cinemas have arranged 20 - 30 screenings of To the Swordsmith Village per day. The most exaggerated one, TOHO CINEMAS Shinjuku, even arranged 40 screenings in a day.
According to the Japanese Film Distribution Association, as of July 28, after 10 days of release, the cumulative box office of To the Swordsmith Village has exceeded 12.8 billion yen, and the number of viewers has reached as high as 9.1 million. Its market performance during the same period has surpassed the current Japanese film - history box - office champion, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train (hereinafter referred to as The Movie: Mugen Train), also an animated theatrical version of Demon Slayer.
Judging from the current trend, this film is very likely to refresh the Japanese film - history box - office record. Japanese industry insiders also believe that To the Swordsmith Village can take the position of the new champion. In addition, there is news that Demon Slayer has been acquired by an Internet film company. If it can avoid repeating the "regret of To the Swordsmith Village," it may also bring some benefits to the long - starved Chinese mainland film market.
After all, this is the most popular and the most successfully exported IP from Japan in recent years.
Perhaps there's no need for us to introduce the background of Demon Slayer again. But behind its phenomenon - level success, what's more worthy of attention is that the success of Demon Slayer has never been just a content explosion or an emotional ignition. Instead, it comes from a well - connected long - term layout.
The "Demon Slayer" Model Subverts the Industry
What do Chinese audiences think of Demon Slayer? Is it the new pillar of Shonen Jump? Or is it one of the most popular anime IPs in Japan at present? However, for the Japanese anime and film industries, the significance of this work goes far beyond that.
It is a pioneering project that constantly breaks industry paradigms.
First of all, in the animation production mechanism, Demon Slayer chose a non - mainstream route from the very beginning. Instead of adopting the traditional co - production model with TV stations, it has a core production committee composed of Shueisha, Aniplex, and ufotable. They make unified decisions and execute efficiently.
Secondly, its pioneering "distribution strategy" has also subverted the existing system of Japanese TV animation.
Previously, Japanese TV animation implemented a TV - station - centered strategy. However, in addition to being broadcast on 21 TV stations across the country, the TV animation of Demon Slayer was also broadcast almost simultaneously for free on 14 video - distribution platforms such as AbemaTV, dTV, and Amazon Prime.
Copyright distribution is not uncommon in China. However, for the typical TV - station - centered Japanese market, the simultaneous online broadcast of Demon Slayer on multiple platforms means giving up the exclusivity of TV stations on the one hand, and on the other hand, using the "casting a wide net" strategy to abandon means with higher short - term commercial monetization efficiency, such as monopoly by a single online platform or paid - membership viewing.
However, this move has enabled Demon Slayer to obtain a larger and more long - lasting traffic input, successfully maximizing the topic of the work in the short term.
In our opinion, the most crucial innovation lies in its cross - media "continuous collaborative narrative" mechanism.
Taking long - running anime IPs such as One Piece, Detective Conan, and Doraemon as examples, the common development model for these projects is to adapt the main story through TV animation, and the subsequent derivative theatrical - version animations create side stories (mostly original) that do not directly affect the main plot.
Demon Slayer has completely broken this tradition by directly incorporating the theatrical version into the main - plot narrative system. That is to say, each theatrical version of it is a part of the main plot, closely connected with the TV animation and promoting each other.
The results are visible. After the first - season TV animation of Demon Slayer was broadcast from April to September 2019, the topic popularity of the work on Twitter and the number of official - account followers increased exponentially. Then, in September 2020, before the release of the theatrical - version animated film, the official broadcast 5 special episodes (compilation episodes) including The Bond of Siblings, Asakusa Arc, Drum House Arc, Natagumo Mountain Arc, and Hashira Meeting & Butterfly Mansion Arc on Fuji TV.
The close plot connection made the popularity of Demon Slayer reach its peak when Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train was released on October 16, 2020. This animated film released in 2020 also significantly refreshed the then Japanese film - history box - office record with a box office of 40.4 billion yen.
This is not the end. After the great success of The Movie: Mugen Train, in October 2021, the official re - edited the animated film and added a small amount of original plot to combine it into a 7 - episode TV - animation version, paving the way for the second - season TV animation Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Entertainment District Arc which premiered in December that year. In addition to being broadcast on 32 TV stations such as Fuji TV and TOKYO MX and 27 streaming platforms, this season of the animation was also gradually distributed to more than 90 countries and regions overseas.
The connecting theatrical version Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Upper Moons' Gathering, Heading to the Swordsmith Village (the content includes Episode 10 and Episode 11 of Entertainment District Arc and Episode 1 of Swordsmith Village Arc) in February 2023, the third - season TV animation Swordsmith Village Arc which premiered in April 2023, the fourth - season TV animation Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Hashira Training Arc in May 2024, and then the opening chapter of the three - part movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - To the Swordsmith Village released in July this year... Demon Slayer has truly achieved cross - media linked development between TV animation and movies, with the story closely connected, and finally pushed the popularity of the IP to the ceiling level.
One day before the release of To the Swordsmith Village in Japan, Shueisha announced that as of July 2025, the cumulative circulation (including e - books) of all 23 volumes of Demon Slayer comics had reached 220 million copies, ranking sixth among all comics in Japanese history.
From a sales volume of only 3.5 million copies before the animation premiered, to becoming the fastest - selling comic in Japanese comic history to exceed 100 million copies before the release of The Movie: Mugen Train, and then to an additional 70 million copies sold in the 4 years after the comic ended. Under the pioneering operation model, Demon Slayer has shown an unprecedented long - tail effect.
The industry miracle of Demon Slayer is still being continued in To the Swordsmith Village with box - office figures and the number of viewers.
Conclusion
If the Nezha series in China shows the emotional peak of a hit, then the success of Demon Slayer is a victory of industrial paradigms and systematic thinking.
It doesn't rely on a single theatrical version for a "one - point explosion." Instead, it relies on more than six years of continuous planning and execution to create a real phenomenon - level IP. What it has rewritten is not just the box - office record, but also the Japanese animation and film industries' perception and structure of IP development.
This development model, which has been verified by the market, also provides a clear reference model for the Chinese anime industry, which is still in the "exploration period."
This article is from the WeChat official account "Rhinoceros Entertainment" (ID: piaofangtoushijing). Author: Xiaofu, Editor: Pufang. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.