Anime Saves Tired Box Office Again As ‘Chainsaw Man’ Actually Tops The Grabber And The Boss With Strong $9M Friday

For the first time in forever second time in six weeks, Sony, Crunchyroll and the anime ecosystem “saved” the weekend box office from what otherwise would have been a miserable Fri-Sun frame. However, we’re at the point where Crunchyroll’s animated output can just be considered a regular part of both Sony’s theatrical slate and an expected segment of the overall theatrical ecosystem. I’m loath to keep treating the sub-genre like “found money,” which theaters shouldn’t *expect* when guestimating overall revenue for a given quarter.

Not every offering Chainsaw Man flick (topping with an $8.5 million Friday for a likely $18 million debut) can be Demon Slayer-sized. For that matter, not every Colleen Hoover adaptation, like Regretting You with a potential $13 million launch, can match It Ends with Us. Hell, whether it legs out or not, nobody should have expected Deliver Me From Nowhere (an underwhelming $3.5 million Friday and likely $9.5 million weekend) to pull domestic debut grosses on par with Elvis.

However, suppose you do choose to keep counting the anime flicks as “less conventional” or “unexpected” revenue. In that case, it’s also another example of how exhibition has been forced to rely on such “surprise” offerings. Theaters should not have to depend upon a Miyazaki flick topping $40 million domestic to pay their bills. Still, such offerings (a Taylor Swift concert, Godzilla: Minus One, Terrifier 3 or a tentpole-sized Demon Slayer) seem to arrive just in the nick of time.

Nonetheless, credit to everyone finally rediscovering that a wide theatrical release remains the best way to create, or establish an existing, show, franchise, or brand as a comparatively monoculture event. Netflix isn’t bringing KPop Demon Hunters back to multiplexes for Halloween, and it’s not releasing Stranger Things’ series finale in theaters and streaming concurrently because Ted Sarandos got Christmas Carol-ed into loving the big-screen experience. Netflix is using the theatrical release as a signifier of a top-tier pop culture victory.

Neither of Netflix’s newest forays into theatrical exhibition qualifies as “new” or “disruptive.” Beyond just the recent slew of nostalgia-chasing reissues, it’s been a decade since the BBC released Sherlock: The Abominable Bride in 500 theaters just after its TV debut. I once hoped Netflix would use semi-wide theatrical releases to separate an Army of the Dead from a Woman in the Window. Yet, as long as the movies keep flowing and audiences keep buying popcorn, volume and money equal fortune and glory.