The pandemic in Japan in 2020 saw three major waves of severity: March to May, July to August, and December.
At its worst, the country even entered a state of emergency. Although this so-called "state of emergency" was not particularly strict and was far from being stringent, it still meant that for a long time, many people were unable to go to movie theaters.
After being suppressed for so long, enthusiasm for watching films was extremely high.
In June, the first promotional PV for the Demon Slayer theatrical film "Mugen Train" had actually been released. However, even though the PV still stated an October release date, viewers were somewhat skeptical about whether they would actually be able to see the film in October.
By July and August, when the pandemic rebounded and the virus became rampant once more, the audience's skepticism only deepened.
However, by September, the pandemic seemed less severe. Produ and the joint distributors of the Demon Slayer theatrical film began to ramp up promotional efforts, and with the release date officially confirmed, the audience no longer had any doubts.
It looked like it would be released as scheduled, and so, many people were happy:
"It's actually going to be released in October just as promised; that's great."
"October 16th? I'll definitely go to the cinema to watch it then."
"Because of the pandemic, it's been too long since I've watched a movie in a theater. Now, I can finally properly enjoy one."
"Looking forward to it. I hope there won't be any unexpected issues by then."
"One of the few pieces of good news I've heard this year."
"With the pandemic being so severe a while ago, I thought we wouldn't be able to see this film until at least 2021. I didn't expect it wouldn't take that long. The animation staff worked hard; as long as it's showing, I'll definitely go to the theater to watch it."
"The pandemic was so severe a while back, I thought we'd have to wait until at least 2021 to see this film. I never expected it would be so soon. The animation production team has really worked hard—as long as I can see it, I will definitely go to the theater."
While people weren't entirely sure in September if the Demon Slayer film would be released as planned, by October, the promotional efforts ramped up once again. With no new peak of the pandemic in sight, people stopped doubting whether the film would actually hit theaters.
However, as the release date drew near, many stopped smiling. The tickets for this movie were actually harder to buy than those for Your Name seven years ago.
The critical thing was that there were no competitors strong enough to rival Demon Slayer during the same period. It's not that there were no other movies, but compared to this Demon Slayer film, the others had no competitive power at all—they weren't even on the same level, so the film's screen allocation was extremely high.
Even in such a situation, tickets were still hard to come by.
Upon realizing this, many were shocked:
"No way? Are there really this many people going to see the Demon Slayer film?"
"Looks like it, though I'm surprised too."
"I thought that even though the pandemic wasn't as severe anymore, it wasn't completely over either. I figured there wouldn't be that many people going to the cinema, and that I'd easily be able to buy tickets for the best seats. But then..."
"I thought that although the pandemic isn't as severe anymore, it's not completely over either, so surely there wouldn't be that many people going to the cinema, and I'd easily be able to buy tickets for the best viewing spots. Turns out... I was too optimistic."
"It wasn't even this crazy when I was trying to grab tickets for 'Your Name'."
"Five minutes after sales opened, over 90% of the tickets for the 'Demon Slayer' movie at the cinema nearby were sold out, leaving only a few seats in the corners. Although that cinema has always been popular, this is still too extreme."
"Another ticket-grabbing craze; I really didn't expect this."
"It's mainly because people haven't watched a movie in so long, and the first season of 'Demon Slayer' was extremely popular last year. Plus, animations produced by LSP always have very high quality, so everyone really wants to see it. It's normal that it's hard to buy tickets. However, as long as you don't have very high requirements for the viewing experience and can accept corner seats, it shouldn't be completely impossible to buy one, given how high the screening rate for this theatrical film really is."
After the initial surprise, many people also began to realize another point: could one of the two goals Lin Zhiyan had set as a producer actually be achieved?
It is very difficult for those who didn't believe it before to suddenly change their minds now, but this wave of ticket-buying frenzy is enough to show some clues.
At the very least, judging by the ticket sales before the release, it is possible for this theatrical film to surpass "Your Name" at the box office. However, no one can say for sure yet whether it has the potential to surpass "Spirited Away."
Although it's impossible to say for sure, the mere possibility of surpassing "Your Name" at the box office means there is a chance it could qualify to challenge the box office record of "Spirited Away." It all depends on whether it can ultimately earn that qualification.
In short, there is a glimmer of hope.
Don't underestimate that mere glimmer of hope. In itself, surpassing "Spirited Away" at the box office is an incredibly outrageous feat. The fact that there is even a glimmer of hope for something so outrageous is even more surprising than the ticket-buying frenzy triggered by "Demon Slayer" itself.
So, while many on the internet are looking forward to this Demon Slayer theatrical film, they are also discussing a related topic:
"No way, no way? It wouldn't actually surpass Spirited Away at the box office, would it?"
"Impossible! Even if the current rush for tickets is even more terrifying than it was for Your Name, the final box office won't surpass Your Name, let alone Spirited Away."
"Spirited Away is a world-class animation, so what is this Demon Slayer theatrical film? If it were that easy to surpass it, wouldn't it be a joke?"
"I'm actually looking forward to it a bit. After all, Spirited Away's box office record has been held for too long. For nearly twenty years, no film—domestic or foreign—has been able to shake it. Now, this Demon Slayer theatrical film has a tiny chance. If it really ends up surpassing it, I personally think that would be great."
"The movie hasn't even been released yet; it's a bit too early to discuss whether its box office will surpass Spirited Away. Who knows? Maybe word-of-mouth will be mediocre after it's released, with strong sales only in the first few days, and then it'll fizzle out after a week."
"If it were any other animated film, there might indeed be a possibility of mediocre word-of-mouth. But this is a manga-adapted animated film, and it's produced by LSP. A collapse in word-of-mouth? There isn't even a 0.1% chance of that, okay?"
"Regardless, we still have to wait and see after the movie is officially released. But to be honest, the possibility of the Demon Slayer movie's box office surpassing Spirited Away is really very high. As a manga adaptation, there's no need to worry about word-of-mouth, and it also has 'heavenly timing'—there are no competing films during the same period. Every condition is favoring this animation. If it can't surpass it, then perhaps no other animation ever will."
"Don't forget one more thing: the first season of the TV anime was extremely popular among elementary school students. In other words, the audience for this movie is even broader than Your Name, and likely no less than that of Spirited Away back in the day."
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