Bookstore phenomenon, the manga "Demon Slayer" is breaking the Japanese box office with its animated adaptation -
Hiroshi Adacghi / AP / SIPA
After having shaken up the manga industry, and titillating
One Piece
,
Demon Slayer
is now attacking the cinema.
Its animated adaptation is indeed on the way to breaking the record for theatrical receipts in Japan, held by
Spirited Away
from Studio Ghibli.
Despite the pandemic, the success of the film has not been denied since its release in mid-October, and is currently on the heels of Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece, after having overtaken
James Cameron's
Titanic
.
But the stakes are not yet over.
An almost Hollywood rebound has just disrupted the inexorable rise of the newcomer: Tuesday, the revenues
of Spirited Away
at the Japanese box office were revalued upwards to take into account its release in theaters this summer.
With 31.7 billion yen (252 million euros) in revenue,
Spirited Away
keeps its throne for now, while
Demon Slayer
, still in theaters, posted 30.3 billion yen during the last updated box office ranking on Monday.
A phenomenon in cinema, TV and manga
Demon Slayer
tells the story of Tanjiro, a teenage boy living in Japan during the Taisho era (1912-1926), who becomes a demon hunter after his family is slaughtered by these bloodthirsty human creatures.
The work combines the hero's initiatory journey, a recurring theme in manga for adolescents, with positive values such as brotherly love, friendship and the struggle of good against evil.
The original manga, published in the weekly
Weekly Shonen Jump
from 2016 to 2020 (and still in progress in France at Panini), gained further popularity with the release in 2019 of an animated series adaptation.
Then its bookstore sales soared last spring, when the Japanese population was called to stay at home because of the pandemic.
According to the Dai-ichi Life research institute, the franchise has already generated 270 billion yen (2.1 billion euros) taking into account admissions to theaters, sales of manga and derivative products.
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Manga
Animation
Japan
Cinema