Demon Slayer Infinity Castle Part 1 tops Japan box office amid praise

Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie Infinity Castle Part 1 opened in Japan in July and has since become a global phenomenon, racking up strong box office receipts, glowing early reviews and surging manga sales as it rolls out to other markets this month. The first installment of a planned three film finale places the Demon Slayer Corps and its Hashira inside Muzan Kibutsuji's Infinity Castle for what critics and fans are calling a climactic, fiercely animated showdown.

Studio figures and box office trackers report that the film has earned roughly 27.8 billion yen, about 190 million dollars, in just over six weeks in Japan, pushing it past Titanic to become the third highest grossing film in the country. Analysts say it is on pace to challenge the franchise's own Mugen Train for the top spot if current momentum continues. The film also topped Korea's box office for a third straight weekend, grossing 3.8 million dollars from nearly 500,000 admissions between September 5 and 7 and bringing its Korean cumulative to about 30.7 million dollars, according to the Korean Film Council's Kobis service. Advance ticket sales have been historic in other territories as well; industry...