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Box Office Mojo, a subsidiary of Amazon, announced the ‘2025 Movie Box Office Revenue Rankings.’ Among them, the ones that performed remarkably well were the Japanese anime films ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle’ and ‘Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc’. Demon Slayer ranked 18th in the North American market and 7th worldwide（Refer to Table 4 and the note below）. In the North American market, it was rated R and, despite being shown in a limited number of theaters, it managed to secure this box office revenue. It earned approximately 6 trillion dollars in revenue outside the North American market. The North American market accounts for 18.5% of the global total (Refer to Table 5 and the note below), with Chainsaw Man at 27% and the domestically produced Zootopia 2 at 23.1%. Three Chinese films (ranked 1st, 14th, and 16th) have an extremely low North American share of less than 1%, so excluding these from the top 20 global live-action films, the average North American share for the remaining 15 films is 42.8%.Anime movies account for 21.7%. The ratio drops to half that of a live-action movie. It is said that adults have also started watching anime in the North American market, but the number is still significantly lower compared to live-action movies. Expanding the range to the top 50 in the global rankings, you can see that Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback is in 30th place (with a box office revenue of about $1,660.6 billion), and Kokuho is in 41st place (with about $1,356.5 billion). Both works achieved this accomplishment even though they were not released in theaters in the North American market.
On the other hand, Chainsaw Man ranked 49th in the North American market (released on October 24, box office revenue of $43,438,461) and 31st worldwide (same release date, $1,606,186,63 in revenue). The release scale in North America is slightly smaller than that of Demon Slayer, with 3,003 theaters. Moreover, about two months after its release, on December 9, it began online distribution on platforms like Amazon. Even so, it achieved good results in the box office. While Demon Slayer, whose story’s ending was already in sight, focused on movie box office success, Chainsaw Man, which is still being serialized, opted for short-term gross business. The difference in circumstances led to differences in business methods, making for an interesting development.
In the North American market in 2026, films such as the Japanese version of Godzilla and the second chapter of Demon Slayer are scheduled to be released. Furthermore, Uma Musume will take on a new challenge in the North American market. The title is ‘Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Beginning of a New Era’ (release date: February 27). A movie that was released in Japan in May 2024. It will be distributed in the North American market by Japan’s independent distribution company GAGA. When releasing a movie overseas, in order to secure as many theaters as possible, it is common to sign a contract with a local distribution company. Following this practice, Sony Group acquired Crunchyroll, and Toho acquired GKIDS, venturing into the North American release of Japanese films through local distribution companies. Uma Musume will be supplied to the North American market under an unusual system in which a Japanese company, lacking local expertise, is responsible for distribution.
This GAGA’s activities are being supported by Japan’s GENDA Group, which operates approximately 1,100 amusement facilities, karaoke shops, photo studios, and other establishments both domestically and internationally. From November 2023, GAGA became part of this group through an M&A. GAGA aims to leverage its parent company’s overseas facilities to create successful new examples of film distribution in the North American market. Furthermore, Bushiroad also entered into a business partnership agreement with GENDA on December 17 of last year. Bushiroad indicated in its mid-term management plan its intention to increase the number of trading card game experience events overseas. The overseas stores that GENDA operates are attractive in that regard. Each company aims to enhance their mutual corporate value by collaborating with Japanese companies in overseas expansions. In 2026, the overseas expansion efforts of companies dealing with Japanese anime and character goods will become even more active than before.
※ The content of this article and the attached materials reflects the situation as of January 30, 2026. The rankings operated by Box Office Mojo are published based on the release date of each film, with box office earnings accumulated during their run without being separated by year.Therefore, when looking at the current box office revenue and rankings, some parts differ from this content.Additionally, Kokuho began its theatrical release in the North American market on February 20. Please read the article with that in mind.
