Haruo Sotozaki's Demon Slayer Infinity Castle delivered an impressive opening and earned Rs 13 crore on its first day, according to industry tracker Sacnilk.
What's Happening
- The film had already shown signs of a strong performance during its advance booking phase.
- Some predictions had estimated that it could cross Rs 15 crore on the opening day, but even the current numbers are significant.
- The film outperformed several Indian releases currently in theatres, with better opening day figures than Baaghi 4 (Rs 12 crore), Param Sundari (Rs 7.25 crore), and The Bengal Files (Rs 1.75 crore), as well as the recently released Mirai (Rs 12 crore).
- The only film that surpassed Infinity Castle on its first day was The Conjuring: Last Rites, which earned Rs 17.5 crore.
- The film's occupancy rate averaged 39.61% across the country. Morning and afternoon shows brought in 31.35% and 33.49%, respectively, while evening and night shows performed even better with 42.6% and 50.98%.
- With over 1000 shows across the country, Hyderabad and Bengaluru led with 181 and 173 shows each.
Background
Compared to other anime films released in India over the past few years, Infinity Castle has clearly made a mark. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 ran in theatres for just four days and collected Rs 4.85 crore, while Suzume did not even reach the Rs 1 crore mark.
Both of these films were global successes in 2022 and 2023, but couldn't make a similar impact in India. Infinity Castle broke into a market that had remained relatively dormant for years. The growing anime fanbase in India, nurtured during the lockdown, played a major role in this rise.
Interestingly, even James Gunn's Superman couldn't match these numbers, earning only Rs 7.25 crore on its first day in India.
Globally, Demon Slayer Infinity Castle has already earned $279 million (Rs 2383 crore), according to Box Office Mojo. In the US alone, Sony predicts weekend earnings of Rs 45 million (Rs 397 crore), although this is seen as a conservative estimate. Deadline's projections suggest the film could earn up to $60 million (Rs 529 crore) by the end of the week.
The film, directed by Haruo Sotozaki, features the original Japanese voice cast, including Natsuki Hanae, Takahiro Sakurai, Saori Hayami, Akira Ashida, and Hiro Shimono.
