Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle was the year's breakout triumph, redefining what an anime film might achieve at the global box office and establishing a record-breaking landscape for animated movies in 2025. As studios rely more on international franchises and fan-driven releases, the biggest anime movies of 2025 by box office revenue include both long-established brands and unexpected runners-up as anime's financial presence expanded globally.
Across several areas, Japanese anime continued to rise, as seen by global box office numbers reported by Box Office Mojo. The growth proved development beyond typical domestic circuits and into North America, Europe, and emerging territories. Below are multiple entries that made it to the 2025 top anime films list by box office revenue.
Highest Grossing Anime Films 2025 Worldwide
10. Hypnosis Mic – Division Rap Battle (~$11.6M)
At No. 10, Hypnosis Mic - Division Rap Battle earned an estimated $11.6 million USD globally. However, Variety surprisingly noted that seven months after the film’s release, repeat viewings have lifted its gross amount to near about ¥2.5B (~$16.5M) in Japan. Since national monitoring began in 2004, reportedly no Japanese film has earned more than ¥2B while playing in fewer than 100 theaters, a record that this movie emphatically shattered.
Hypnosis Mic envisions a society without weapons in which power is determined through rap fights. The multimedia franchise included music, manga, radio plays, stage productions, games, and anime. The film also features an interactive structure in which viewers vote in real time to determine the result of the Third Division Rap Battle.
9. Uta No Prince-Sama: Maji Love Taboo Night XXXX (~$11.9M)
Uta No Prince-Sama: Maji Love Taboo Night XXXX finished ninth on the year's box office chart, grossing around $11.9M. The film's funding comes primarily from fan-driven premieres and concert-style screening events. This model has become increasingly popular among games with dedicated but niche worldwide fan bases.
Crunchyroll noted that the franchise’s first concert film, Uta no Prince-sama The Movie: Maji LOVE Kingdom, which was released in Japan in June 2019, earned ¥1.82B (~ $12.70M) from its total domestic run. The second film, Uta no Prince-sama The Movie: Maji LOVE ST☆RISH TOUR, followed in Sept 2022 and crossed the earlier movie’s box office numbers by earning ¥2.29B (~ $16M).
8. Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing (~$12.3M)
Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can't Sing finished in eighth place, grossing around $12.3M globally. The film had a record-breaking opening weekend in the United States, grossing $2.77M in three days, reported Times of India. The U.S. debut exceeded industry forecasts, even topping its own performance in Japan, a remarkable achievement for a non-shonen anime film.
The film is based on the mobile rhythm game Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! and stars a virtual idol named Hatsune Miku. The box office performance of the Colorful Stage! shows Miku's global fandom, along with an emotive plot and high-energy visuals, broadening its appeal beyond core players. In Japan, the title remained competitive with franchises such as Gundam, Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen, showcasing the increasing financial viability of music-themed anime and virtual idol assets.
7. Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers (~$15.8M)
The most recent Crayon Shin-chan theatrical release earned around $15.8M globally, ranking seventh among 2025's top anime films by box office revenue. The film, set against the colorful backdrop of India, capitalizes on Shin-chan's long-standing appeal with Indian audiences, where the character has been well-known for decades.
Screenings in numerous dubbed languages, as well as enthusiastic fan expectation, contributed to the franchise's tremendous local appeal. Recently, it also ranked among the top four films in South Korea, as reported by Variety, with a total box-office gross of $1.8M.
6. Gekijô-ban Nintama Rantarô Dokutake Ninja-tai Saikyô no Gunshi (~$21.08M)
Rounding up the mid-tier, Gekijô-ban Nintama Rantarô Dokutake Ninja-tai Saikyô no Gunshi earned approximately $21.08M in global revenue, finishing sixth in the year's anime box office rankings.
Nintama Rantarō follows the journey of the main character and his friends as they attend a ninja academy. Nintama Rantarô films, a legacy family franchise in Japan, often generate dependable domestic turnouts but have limited foreign distribution compared to larger names, as evidenced by their relative placement in the 2025 list.
5. Cells at Work! (~$39.6M)
Cells at Work! Finished at fifth with an estimated $39.6M worldwide, making it one of the year's most unexpected commercial anime entrants. In the first weekend of 2025, the film grossed ¥641M (~$4.05M) from 466,000 ticket sales, keeping the top rank for four consecutive weekends.
4. Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution (~$40.9M)
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution ranked fourth among the top 10 highest-grossing anime films of 2025, with projected earnings of $40.9M for the international ticket sales. The anime film opened at number 4 in the U․S., earning an estimated $10.1M. Its inclusion in the top five of 2025’s highest-grossing anime films indicates solid franchise performance even without major global marketing muscle behind it.
The film is yet to release in many other regions including India and will continue to grow its lifetime box office, as the anime’s new season hit streaming platforms in early weeks of Jan, 2026.
District
Top 3: Biggest Anime Film Grossers 2025
3. Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback (~$166M)
Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback rounded out the podium, attracting both senior franchise fans and newer audiences to theaters and grossing an estimated $166M worldwide. According to Oricon, the recent Conan film grossed ¥14.67B, or approximately $93.8M, making it the franchise's second-best-grossing installment.
Its last film, Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Pentagram, recorded 630,000 admissions and earned ¥960M, or approximately $6.14M, on its opening day. The sustained popularity of long-running franchises like Detective Conan demonstrates anime's ability to sustain multi-decade properties while also tapping into new revenue streams via theatrical releases.
Crunchyroll.
2. Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc (~$175M)
The Chainsaw Man franchise has been a cultural lightning rod since its serialized premiere. It was followed by Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc, which earned more than $175M worldwide. While behind Demon Slayer by a substantial margin, this was one of the few anime films outside the core Demon Slayer franchise to reach nine figures. The film's success was due to a large global audience and a well-timed distribution strategy, which built upon the IP’s expanding Western fandom, notably in North America and Europe.
According to Oricon, the movie was released in 421 theaters in Japan. On its Japanese opening day, it attracted 272,000 viewers and earned ¥420M, equivalent to approximately $2.68M. It exceeded expectations by surpassing ¥5B, or roughly $31.9M, in less than one month, eventually going on to break the ¥10B mark. A sequel titled Chainsaw Man Assassin Arc has already been confirmed for production.
Chainsaw Man
1. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle ($790.5M)
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is at the top of the list of the top grossing anime films of 2025 worldwide, having surpassed practically every box office threshold for the year's animated releases.
The film, a continuation of the hugely popular manga-based franchise, grossed an estimated $790.5M in worldwide cinema revenues, vastly outperforming other anime movies. It recorded one of the most profitable runs for any animated movies in recent times.
According to industry experts, Infinity Castle's profitability was partially aided in part by its extensive international distribution and record-breaking openings in key regions such as Japan and North America, where it set new standards for anime releases.
Crunchyroll IG
Year Ender 2025: What Do The Numbers Indicate?
By the end of 2025, the anime box office numbers indicated that the market had stabilized at a higher level rather than seeing a transitory surge. Established IPs remained at the top of the rankings, although some newer and mid-tier anime movies garnered significant audiences in various regions.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle stood out as the year's defining hit, yet its domination revealed the industry's structure rather than its limit. Global growth increasingly rewards scale, coordination, and recognizable IP, while still leaving room for a variety of stories and formats. The way studios balance franchise dominance with the development of fresh products may influence the future phase of anime films.
