The Demon Slayer Movie Shatters Records and Faces Unique Problems

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train is shattering movie records in Japan and showing no sign of slowing down. The film has managed to take over 10 billion yen ($95 million) in its first ten days, beating out Japan’s previous record held by Studio Ghibli’s “Spirited Away,” which took 25 days to reach the same milestone. The movie is also being eyed to overcome “Spirited Away” as the highest-grossing animated movie in Japanese history.

However, the Demon Slayer movie’s popularity also brings with it unique problems in this Coronavirus era. Under guidelines for operating with the Coronavirus threat, theatres are not allowed to sell popcorn in theatres with 100% capacity. This forces watchers to remove their mask to eat and becomes a distance liability in a packed theatre. Due to this rule, popcorn sellers are actually facing decreases in sales despite the massive success of the movie. Ironically, the more popular the movie is, the less likely popcorn companies are to have a chance to make sales.

Furthermore, the number of counterfeit goods for the Demon Slayer is becoming uncontrollable. Mr. Miya Tomishige, an employer for Shueisha, the company that handles the Demon Slayer manga, has remarked on the unbelievably large number of counterfeit goods being made. Pirated anime sets that are being recommended on Amazon, counterfeit figures and toys, and homemade posters are just some of the many ways that counterfeiters are profiting. According to Mr. Tomishige, on average, around 20 cases of possible counterfeit goods are received from customs every year, but last month alone has seen over 100 related to Demon Slayer.