Demon Slayer Movie Premieres with Midnight Madness: Fans Flock to Theaters at Dawn with PTO and Plans to Watch Four Times

The latest installment of the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, the film Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Arc Part 1: Akaza Sairai (JP: 『劇場版「鬼滅の刃」無限城編 第一章 猗窩座再来), premiered in theaters across Japan today, July 18. Special “fastest screenings” began at midnight in 24 theaters across 11 prefectures, with all seats sold out. On social media, fans shared their excitement with posts like “Huge crowds at the fastest screening!” and “So many people! Everyone's lining up for merch!” As a result, “fastest screening” trended on X during the night of the 17th.

Theaters such as TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku scheduled an impressive 40 screenings for the day, starting at 7:00 AM. Fans began gathering at the venue early in the morning, making the weekday morning premiere a major event.

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Fans Share Emotional Reactions After Midnight Showings

Midnight screenings were held in theaters located in Hokkaido, Miyagi, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Hiroshima, Tokushima, and Fukuoka. Anticipation was high even before the showings, with fans posting comments like “Time for the feast! I’m beyond excited” and “It’s been ages since I’ve gone out at this hour—can’t wait!”

After the screenings, social media was flooded with emotional reactions such as “Just watched the fastest screening. I cried…” and “The Demon Slayer movie was incredible.”

TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku Screens the Film 40 Times in One Day

TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku dedicated 11 of its 12 screens to the film, showing it four times across different screens starting from 7 AM. Throughout the day, the movie was shown every few hours, concluding with a final screening at 1:05 AM the next day. TOHO Cinemas Hibiya and Ikebukuro also followed suit with 31 screenings each. Other theaters in the Shinjuku area, such as Shinjuku Wald 9 and Shinjuku Piccadilly, recorded 18 and 23 showings respectively.

These numbers mirror the large-scale release of the 2020 hit Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, which grossed 40.43 billion yen. At that time, TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku ran 42 screenings on opening day, with similar numbers seen at other venues.

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Devoted Fans Take PTO and Plan Multiple Viewings

At TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku, the day began with a nearly sold-out 7:00 AM screening. One male fan in his 20s from Saitama shared, “I took paid leave ahead of the upcoming three-day weekend to watch this. I’ve been a fan since the manga was running, and I’m really excited—though I’m sleep-deprived, so I hope I don’t fall asleep during the movie!”

Another fan, a man in his 30s from Chiba, said, “I’m excited to see how far the story progresses. I watched Mugen Train four times, so I plan to watch Infinity Castle four times as well.”

A woman in her 20s living in Tokyo commented, “I’m heading home to visit my family later today, but I thought, ‘Why not watch it first?’ and booked a ticket on impulse. I’m really looking forward to it.”

The Legacy of Demon Slayer Continues

Demon Slayer is based on the manga that ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from February 2016 to May 2020. Set in a Taisho-era world plagued by man-eating demons, it follows Tanjiro Kamado, a boy who joins the Demon Slayer Corps to avenge his family and save his demon-turned sister Nezuko. The manga has sold over 220 million copies worldwide.

Source : ORICON NEWS