Demon Slayer: Infinity Train Takes A Big Fall At The Box Office While Neither HIM Nor A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Can Inspire Excitement

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Recently, we’ve seen a smart strategy in Hollywood where two very different movies are released on the same weekend. The idea is that by appealing to different audiences, both films can do well and increase overall movie ticket sales. The biggest example of this working was ‘Barbenheimer’ a couple of years ago, but it doesn’t always pay off, as we’re seeing this weekend.

Justin Tipping’s *HIM* and Kogonada’s *A Big Bold Beautiful Journey* are very different films – one’s a strange, scary horror movie, and the other is a charming, romantic fantasy. However, they both had disappointing results at the box office this weekend. Both films aimed to attract a lot of moviegoers, but neither generated much excitement. As a result, *Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle* remained the top domestic film, even though its numbers dropped significantly from the previous weekend. See the full Top 10 list below, and then I’ll share some analysis.

TITLE WEEKEND GROSS DOMESTIC GROSS LW THTRS
1. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle $17,300,000 $104,730,000 1 3,342
2. Him* $13,500,000 $13,500,000 N/A 3,168
3. The Conjuring: Last Rites $12,950,000 $151,177,000 2 3,413
4. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale $6,300,000 $31,626,000 3 3,711
5. The Long Walk $6,300,000 $22,719,000 4 2,845
6. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey* $3,500,000 $3,500,000 N/A 3,330
7. The Senior* $2,773,021 $2,773,021 N/A 2,405
8. Toy Story $1,400,000 $198,409,534 5 2,340
9. Sight & Sound Presents: Daniel LIVE $1,384,408 $1,600,727 N/A 933
10. Weapons $1,260,000 $149,732,000 6 1,186

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle Repeats At Number One Despite Plummeting Ticket Sales

Since movie theaters reopened in 2021, anime films have seen some impressive box office results. Films like *Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train* (April 2021) and *Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero* (August 2022) opened strongly in the US, proving there’s a dedicated anime fanbase. However, these films haven’t been able to maintain that initial audience interest over time.

We noticed the same problem this weekend with *Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle*, according to data from The Numbers.

Last week, I wrote about the impressive opening weekend of the new anime film, which earned $70.6 million and became the tenth-highest-grossing movie debut in the US and Canada this year, surpassing the $64 million earned by *Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning*. However, interest quickly dropped off. While the initial numbers were strong, people didn’t seem eager to see it again, and those unfamiliar with the series weren’t drawn in by the hype. As a result, the new *Demon Slayer* movie only earned $17.3 million over the past three days – a significant 75 percent decrease.

Unfortunately, big drops in ticket sales aren’t unusual. For example, *Demon Slayer: Mugen Train* saw a 70% decrease in sales from one weekend to the next in April 2021. Similarly, *Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero* dropped 78% in August 2022. This has happened multiple times, showing a consistent trend.

The good news is that *Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle* earned so much money last weekend – $17.3 million domestically – that a slight decrease in ticket sales won’t hurt its overall success. It’s now one of only fifteen movies released this year to gross over $100 million, surpassing the box office results of major Hollywood films like *Freakier Friday* and *Snow White*.

Okay, so the domestic box office numbers – around $104.7 million in the US and Canada – are good, but honestly, it’s the international numbers that are *really* impressive! The movie has made a whopping $450.3 million overseas, bringing the total worldwide gross to $555 million so far. That puts it at number nine for highest-grossing films of the year, and it’s actually surpassed *Fantastic Four: First Steps* – which is already leaving theaters after earning $519.3 million. I’m so excited to see how much further it goes!

Where things go from here in the industry will be exciting to watch.

HIM and A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Underwhelm In Their Opening Weekends

It’s been cool seeing *Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle* do so well, even with a bit of a dip last weekend. But honestly, the box office numbers for *HIM* and *A Big Bold Beautiful Journey* over the past few days have been a little disappointing. With Halloween and some big names attached, I was really hoping those two would connect with audiences, but it just didn’t seem to happen.

Horror movies have been performing well lately, with hits like Zach Cregger’s *Weapons* and Michael Chaves’ *The Conjuring: Last Rites*. However, *HIM* isn’t shaping up to be one of the genre’s successes in 2025. While Jordan Peele’s involvement as a producer brought some attention to the football-themed horror film, negative reviews led to a disappointing opening weekend of just $13.5 million, placing it in second place (according to Variety, the film cost $27 million to make).

Things didn’t go well for the new film, *A Big Bold Beautiful Journey*. While it’s Margot Robbie’s first movie since the huge success of *Barbie* in 2023, and it stars Colin Farrell, that wasn’t enough to attract audiences. The romantic fantasy only earned $3.5 million over the weekend, landing it in sixth place, behind *The Long Walk*.

The box office had a slow week, but things are looking up! Next week brings three new and diverse movies: Paul Thomas Anderson’s action-packed drama *One Battle After Another*, the scary sequel *The Strangers: Chapter 2*, and the family fun of *Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie*. Check back with TopMob next Sunday to see how these films perform and if they change the top ten rankings.

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2025-09-21 22:12