Making its debut on this side of the Pacific Ocean, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — the Movie Infinity Castle” grossed $70 million this weekend to lead all films in North America, according to industry estimates Sunday.
It’s the biggest opening ever for an anime film in North America. Director Haruo Sotozaki’s film is based on Koyoharu Gotouge’s best-selling manga series, and was released domestically by Sony Pictures.
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” took $26.1 million Friday through Sunday for second place, one week after opening at the top of the chart, Comscore reported.
“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” opened in third place with $18.1 million.
“The Long Walk,” based on a novel by Stephen King, opened in fourth place with $11.5 million.
Fifth place went to a 30th anniversary re-release of Pixar’s “Toy Story,” which opened with $3.5 million.
Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases were “Weapons” ($2.7 million), “Hamilton” ($2.2 million), “Freakier Friday” ($2.1 million), “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” ($1.6 million) and “The Sound of Music 60th Anniversary” ($1.48 million).
This weekend’s overall three-day box office haul was estimated at $148 million. The year-to-date total is $6.324 billion — up 4.4% from the figure at this time last year, according to Comscore.