‘Chainsaw Man’ Anime Beats Expectations And Tops Box Office During Slow October

Topline

“Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” topped the box office during a weekend with a number of big releases, opening with $17.2 million in the U.S., according to early estimates published in the Hollywood trade publications, marking another big win for anime at the domestic box office.

The anime film has already grossed over $61 million overseas before opening in the U.S.

Getty Images for Sony Pictures

Key Facts

“Chainsaw Man” blew past initial projections of a $7 million-$10 million opening, and even surpassed updated projections of $11 million-$15 million after a strong showing in previews.

The anime film has already grossed at least $61 million overseas after opening in Japan and other Asian markets in September.

“Chainsaw Man” is being distributed by Sony’s Crunchyroll, which also distributed “Demon Slayer”—the anime film that shattered records and opened with $70 million in the U.S. in September.

Viewers gave “Chainsaw Man” an impressive A CinemaScore, and both audiences and critics gave the film near-unanimous praise, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

Key Background

“Chainsaw Man” marks the second big win at the box office for Sony and Crunchyroll, the anime streaming service and distributor it purchased from AT&T in a $1.175 billion deal that was finalized in 2021. In September, the distributor released “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle” in the U.S., instantly topping the box office and breaking a decades-old record for biggest anime opening weekend in the U.S. “Demon Slayer” has since grossed over $589 million worldwide, making it the ninth-biggest movie of the year at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo data, earning more than big name American franchises like “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” “The Conjuring: Last Rites” and two of Marvel’s big releases this year, “Thunderbolts*” and “Captain America: Brave New World.”

How Has The Box Office Performed In October?

October is on track to become one of the worst months at the domestic box office, with theaters cumulatively grossing only $332 million before this weekend. This month’s highest-grossing film has so far been “Tron: Ares,” a bomb that only opened for $33.2 million in the U.S., grossing a total of $108 million worldwide against a reported $180 million budget. Before this month, the worst month at the box office was March, when theaters only grossed about $397 million.

How Did Other Films Fare This Weekend?

“Chainsaw Man” was up against two other major releases from American studios—a Bruce Springsteen biopic and an adaptation of a novel by bestselling author Colleen Hoover. “Regretting You,” the Hoover adaptation starring Allison Williams, Mckenna Grace and Dave Franco, opened with about $13 million. This placed it neck-and-neck with “Black Phone 2,” a Blumhouse horror film starring Ethan Hawke that debuted a week earlier. “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” starring Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong, rounded out the top four, grossing only about $9.1 million during its opening weekend. The biopic will need to keep selling tickets to recoup its reported $55 million budget—but it appears to be connecting with the Boss’ loyal fanbase, earning an 85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a strong B+ CinemaScore from viewers.