This last weekend proved that Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba still holds tremendous power in the Japanese market with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- dominating theaters over its opening weekend, making more than 1 billion yen and having the second biggest February opening of all time in Japanese history – not bad for three episodes of the series put together.

The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba World Tour screenings started on February 3 and have already grossed 1,158,765,410 yen (US$8.72 million) on the back of 813,422 tickets sold. 

Alongside the February record, which was only behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2004, the screenings also marked the second-biggest opening of 2023 behind THE FIRST SLAM DUNK and gives Demon Slayer the title of the seventh highest-grossing film of 2023 so far. 

While this pales in comparison to Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train’s mammoth 4.6 billion yen (US$43.8 million) opening weekend in October 2020, it has to be noted -To the Swordsmith Village- features 4K remastered versions of the last two episodes of the Entertainment District arc and the first extended length episode of the upcoming Swordsmith Village arc, complete with the opening, endings and eye catches, rather than being a complete film.

These kinds of pre-screening events are common for upcoming anime series but have never been shown on a scale like this before, especially not going on a 95-country and territory world tour. It’s hard to predict how far -To the Swordsmith Village- will go at the Japanese box office due to this, but one thing is for sure, people still love Demon Slayer.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- is a feature-length cut of Episodes 10 and 11 of the Entertainment District Arc along with the extended Episode 1 of the upcoming Swordsmith Village Arc in 4K with remastered audio. The feature starts in Japanese theaters on February 3 with the L.A. premiere on February 18 ahead of full screenings on March 3. It is set to be shown across 95 countries and territories.

The Entertainment District Arc was the latest arc to air, starting on Japanese TV on December 5, 2021, and was streamed on Crunchyroll weekly shortly after its TV broadcast. The rest of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime franchise, including the Mugen Train film and arc, is also available to watch on Crunchyroll. 

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc is scheduled to begin in April 2023.

Source: Demon Slayer on Twitter

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Daryl Harding is a Senior Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.