Another blockbuster based on an anime has smashed box-office records. Just as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle dominated theater sales during its opening weekend in Japan earlier this year, Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc is still making a splash in cinemas worldwide, even a month after its initial theatrical release.
For the uninitiated, Chainsaw Man is quite simply that: a man with a chainsaw for a head. The anime and manga follow Denji, a teenager who is trying to work off his late father’s debt to the yakuza by working as a devil hunter. His bosses eventually turn on him and have him killed; luckily, though, Denji’s dog Pochita is really a Chainsaw Devil and makes a deal with the teen to merge with his soul and save his life (how convenient). Now armed with the ability to turn any part of his body into a chainsaw, Denji makes a living chainsawing through demons as part of a government-sanctioned group of devil hunters.
The animated film, based on the widely successful anime and manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, has already earned $68.3 million since its September 19 debut in Japan. In Japan alone, the movie has grossed roughly $37.67 million from 3.74 million tickets sold, making it the country’s fourth-highest-grossing film of the year. It found the same success in South Korea and Taiwan, bringing in $14.27 million and $3.6 million, respectively.
The movie opened in the Philippines on September 24, giving Filipino fans of the story the chance to experience the highly anticipated adaptation on the silver screen. It also recently opened in the United States on October 24, already bringing in $17.2 million in ticket sales and surpassing major debuts such as Black Phone 2, Regretting You, and Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.
