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Demon Slayer, KPop Demon Hunters Win Awards at Celebration of AAPI Cinema & Television
posted on by Adriana Hazra
The Critics Choice Association announced the honorees of the 4th annual Celebration of AAPI Cinema & Television on Wednesday. The association honored Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle - Akaza Sairai, the first film in the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle trilogy, with the International Animation Award; and honored director Maggie Kang with the Animation Award for her and Chris Appelhans' animated film KPop Demon Hunters. The award ceremony will take place on November 14.
The first Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle film has sold 23.652 million tickets for 34,011,490,700 yen (about US$230 million) as of September 28. The film is the second highest-earning film of all time at the Japanese box office, surpassing Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's 2001 film Spirited Away.
Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, the October 2020 film from the same franchise, is currently the highest-earning film in Japan, with a 40.75 billion yen (about US$277 million in current conversion) total take in Japan.
The Box Office Mojo website earlier reported the film's estimated total worldwide earnings at US$555 million as of September 21, making it the highest-earning anime film of all time worldwide, as well as the highest-earning Japanese film of all time worldwide. It is also the #9 highest-grossing film worldwide for 2025, after surpassing The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Captain America: Brave New World.
Haruo Sotozaki is directing the anime at ufotable, and ufotable is also credited for the screenplay. Aimer is performing the song "Taiyō ga Noboranai Sekai" ("A World Where the Sun Never Rises"), and LiSA is performing the song "Zankoku no Yoru ni Kagayake" ("Shine in the Cruel Night").Sony Pictures Animation's
Sony Pictures Animation's KPop Demon Hunters film premiered on Netflix on June 20. The film became the first Netflix film to top the U.S. weekend box office after the KPop Demon Hunters Sing-Along Event opened in 1,700 theaters with US$19.2 million at the end of August. That same week, it became Netflix's most streamed film of all time globally with 236,000,000 views (edging out Red Notice's 230,900,000). Also that week, four songs from the film's soundtrack ranked in the top 10 of the weekly Billboard Hot 100 songs chart simultaneously in the United States — a feat no other soundtrack has ever accomplished.
The animated feature has appeared in Netflix's Top 10 for English-language films for 15 consecutive weeks.
The film has become the first title on the Netflix platform to surpass 300 million views, according to Netflix's official site Tudum.
Sources: The Critics' Choice Association's website, Deadline (Pete Hammond)
