Last week Mortal Kombat topped the US domestic box office, but this week Demon Slayer has surpassed Mortal Kombat and has gained the top position in the US market. Both the movies made their way to the US screens on 23 April.
The popular anime movie has overtaken Mortal Kombat which has seen a 70 per cent drop. Demon Slayer collected $21 million on its opening weekend; making a record for the highest collection ever for an anime while Mortal Kombat collected $23 million on its opening weekend. Many insiders believe the huge success of the movie is reflective of a cinema market focused on serving niche audiences.
In the following weekend, both the movies faced a heavy drop. Demon Slayer collected $6.4 million, while Mortal Kombat took $6.2 million, making for a 73 per cent and 70 per cent drop respectively.
Demon Slayer is currently being played in North American venues and has earned $34.1 million in the US and Canada to date. Its box office collection surged ahead of Dragon Ball: Super Broly ($30 million) to become the third highest-grossing anime title in North America.
Demon Slayer is the story of a boy and his demon sister and features spectacularly animated battles. In the overseas market, Demon Slayer has already made several box office records. In Japan, it has become the highest-grossing movie ever with ticket sales surpassing $368 million. It is the highest-grossing anime film to collect $423 million globally.
Mortal Kombat, an adaptation of the popular video game, has grossed $34 million in two weeks. Those receipts are notable because the Warner Bros. release is playing simultaneously on HBO Max.
In third place, Godzilla vs. Kong, a Warner Bros. and Legendary film, collected $2.7 million from 2,753 screens.
Horror movie Separation placed in the fourth position, collecting $1.8 million from 1,751 venues.