Japan & Korea 2025 First Half Box Office & Upcoming Films
This edition of Streamlined is looking at 2025 first half box office and upcoming films in Japan and South Korea. Following this newsletter, Streamlined will be taking a two-week break to finish the final stages of its platform upgrade. If you experience any problems accessing the newsletters, the new website or your account during this period, please message me directly and either me or the tech genius who is helping me will figure it out.
Japan’s Summer Heats Up With 'Demon Slayer' & Live-Action 'Kokuho'
Japan’s industry bodies do not publish half year box office figures, but it’s safe to say the country had a healthy January to June period with hits including anime feature Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback, currently the highest-grossing film of 2025 with $97m (JPY14.4bn) since its April 18 release.
The second half also got off to a strong start with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, released by Toho and Aniplex on July 18, which broke box office records on its opening weekend and at the time of writing was on course to overtake Detective Conan with $87m (JPY12.9bn) after ten days.
The film is the first in a trilogy that concludes adaptations of the blockbuster manga series that also yielded Japan’s highest-grossing film ever, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, which raked in $274m at the Japanese box office and $507m worldwide in 2020. Sony and Crunchyroll are planning a huge international rollout for Infinity Castle starting this month in Asia and with North America and some European territories joining on September 12.
