Kamado Tanjiro as seen in Demon Slayer Infinity Castle
By
Zach Zamora
Published 25 minutes ago
Zach joined the ScreenRant Anime team as a contributor in June 2024, before taking on a Senior Writer role in November. Since then, he has covered breaking news and produced features and lists about the most popular anime titles.
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2025 has been one of the most exciting years ever for anime. Aside from big debuts and bigger returns from the industry's most popular titles, two major films made box office history. Demon Slayer's Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man's Reze Arc became the first two anime movies to land in the top 30 most successful films of the year.
Anime's overwhelming theatrical success this year has led many in the fandom to speculate whether movies will be the industry's next big trend. Considering the monetary success both Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man have enjoyed, it seems like a no-brainer move. However, the number of anime movies released each year has surprisingly decreased, though recent events might change that.
The Number of Anime Movies Has Steadily Decreased in Recent Years
Despite the Number of Recent Successful Anime Movies, Their Number Is Deceasing
It's no secret that the biggest IPs in anime are beginning to produce movies more frequently. Following the massive success of Demon Slayer's 2020 film, Mugen Train, the likes of Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, and most recently, Chainsaw Man, have adapted story arcs into full-length theatrical releases.
However, it might come as a surprise that 2025 saw the lowest number of anime movies released in the U.S. since 2020, with only seven films receiving wide theatrical screenings. Every year since 2022, which saw a staggering 21 anime movies released in theaters, that number has steadily fallen.
While a number of factors can influence the somewhat troubling trend, including the number of films being produced in Japan year to year, the costs of exporting and localizing those films, or whether certain IPs will have a Western audience, it cannot be denied that such a steep drop in only three years is noteworthy. Though recent movies may have the power to reverse that trend.
Anime Has Ruled the Box Office in 2025
Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man Prove that Anime Belongs in Theaters
Denji watching a movie in the theater from Chainsaw Man The Movie - Reze Arc
After Demon Slayer's 2020 smash-hit movie, Mugen Train, went on to become the highest grossing Japanese film in history, anime's popularity around the world continued to skyrocket, leading to the mainstream success of a number of prominent titles and the more frequent worldwide releases of anime films in theaters.
In 2025, Demon Slayer returned to theaters once more to break its own record, with Infinity Castle smashing Mugen Train's performance in several countries around the world. Just about a month later, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc landed in North American theaters and found itself in the top 10 highest grossing anime movies ever.
Such box office performances are difficult to ignore, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if theaters begin screening anime films as often as they can in an effort to appeal to the medium's endlessly growing fan base. Whether they're rereleases of classic works or new highly anticipated movies, anime fans have proven they will buy tickets.
That sort of success, especially in the streaming age, is difficult to come by, and there will be countless parties looking to get in on the profit. Anime's presence in North American theaters has slowly been shrinking, though the incredible success of Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man is near guaranteed to reverse that trend.
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9.3/10
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed G Animation Action Fantasy Thriller Release Date July 18, 2025 Runtime 155 Minutes Director Haruo Sotozaki, Hikaru Kondo Writers Koyoharu Gotouge, Hikaru Kondo
6 Images
Demon-Slayer-Infinity-Castle-Kaigaku
Shinobu and Tanjiro atop the Butterfly Mansion in Demon Slayer season 1Credit to Ufotable
Doma removing his black crown off his headCredit to Ufotable
Demon-Slayer-Infinity-Castle-Tanjiro
Demon-Slayer-Infinity-Castle-Doma
Shinobu Kocho charging at Doma using her Nichirin SwordCredit to UfotableClose
Cast
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Natsuki Hanae
Tanjiro Kamado (voice)
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Akari Kito
Nezuko Kamado (voice)
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Anime
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Demon Slayer - Franchise
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Chainsaw Man
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