Society

Anime film breaks box office record in Japan

Oct 27 (NHK) - The animated movie "Kimetsu no Yaiba," or "Demon Slayer," has broken box office records in Japan, earning 10 billion yen in its first 10 days in theaters. It reached the milestone much faster than the 25 days it took the 2001 animated fantasy film "Spirited Away."

The movie is based on a hit manga series about a boy who battles demons in Japan about a century ago.

The film's distributor says nearly 8 million people saw the movie in theaters from October 16 to 25. It raked in 10.7 billion yen, or about 95 million dollars.

The distributor attributes the film's success to the popularity of the original comic book as well as a hit TV series among people of all ages.

It also says the movie is a hit because it is being shown at a large number of screens as relatively few films are available due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Demon Slayer" is the first Japanese movie to top the 10 billion yen mark since director Shinkai Makoto's anime film "Weathering With You" in 2019.

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