Three new releases in the weekend before the fall season kicks off, and this is the kind of news that gives Hollywood execs and theatrical distributors a big sigh of relief. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle reigned supreme in a frontloaded $70 million debut, thanks to Sony giving the goods for diehard fans of the anime category. And yes, we say frontloaded because this is the first of three theatrical follow-ups to the highly popular anime series, which serves as a finale of sorts. So, yes, it broke a great bit of records and is Sony’s second-highest domestic debut that is devoid of any attachment to James Bond or Spider-Man. This exemplifies being a breakout sequel, akin to Pitch Perfect 2, and has done great business wonders for this weekend alone. The film will soon be soaring past $400 million worldwide.
It’s almost in an “eerie” sense the kind of anime breakout we’ve been waiting for since the likes of Pokémon: The First Movie, which brought in $31 million in its debut and headed towards $85 million domestically. Yes, Pokémon has its own fanbase and nostalgic aspects, but this is still good news for the “animers.”
Having said that, the grave sins had to latch onto somewhere. The Conjuring: Last Rites took a harder-than-expected tumble of 69% with $26.1 million in its second weekend. That’s a harsher second weekend drop than The Conjuring 2 (-63%) and The Nun (-66%), when the former had a lower opening weekend. We can still expect the legs to continue to remain steady heading into the October season. Then again, the numbers don’t lie, as it’s already past $131 million domestically and $332 million globally. So, despite a scarier tumble in its second weekend than expected, everyone knows that this franchise still delivers great results. Once it passes $137.5 million (which will probably happen by Tuesday night/Wednesday morning), it’ll become the highest domestic earner of the series. And then once it passes The Nun‘s $366 million (which will probably occur by next weekend), it’s the highest-earning movie in The Conjuring universe (not accounting for inflation).
Newcomer Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale opened with $18.1 million in its debut. This is slightly over its predecessor’s $16 million debut back in 2022, so good news for the threequel. Other newcomer The Long Walk earned a delicate $11.5 million, with strong reviews and a B from CinemaScore. Lionsgate definitely secured some flowers for the recent Stephen King adaptation. Spinal Tap II: The End Continues earned $1.67 million in its debut; it’s been 41 years since its predecessor landed with $5.8 million, so give it a break.
In other news, Toy Story re-released in its 1,556 weekend for $3.5 million while The Sound of Music returned to snag $1.48 million. Weapons has started to hit PVOD but will still be passing $150 million domestically in a few days. Hamilton dipped 78% to earn $2.2 million in its second weekend. Freakier Friday is one step closer to $150 million worldwide. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is inching closer to Ant-Man‘s $519.3 million global total.
Next weekend sees the release of Him, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, The Senior, Waltzing with Brando, Adulthood, London Calling, The Summer Book, Prisoner of War, Doin’ It, Xeno, and Plainclothes.
