Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Movie: Infinity Castle, released in Japan on July 18, 2025, became a generational event in cinema almost immediately upon arrival. On its opening day alone, the film earned over ¥1.64 billion in Japan, marking the highest opening day gross in Japanese box office history. By its third day, that number had climbed even higher, and the three-day total reached ¥5.52 billion from 3.84 million admissions, making it the biggest opening weekend of all time in Japanese cinema. The momentum didn't stop there. When the film arrived internationally, it debuted to a staggering $70 million in the United States alone, setting a record for the biggest opening weekend for an anime film in American box office history, and surpassing Sony's previous domestic records in the process.
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| Image Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment |
The numbers only grew more extraordinary over the following weeks. The first Infinity Castle film ultimately became the highest-earning anime film of all time worldwide, as well as the highest-earning Japanese film of all time globally. It also became the first anime film to top the American box office for two consecutive weekends and the first to earn over $100 million in the United States. By the time the film opened in China, its worldwide cumulative total had reached $730 million, and it had already surpassed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to become the top-grossing international film ever at the North American box office — a record that had stood for 25 years. In Japan specifically, the film generated approximately $255 million and helped power the country's total theatrical receipts to a record ¥274.45 billion in 2025, a 32% increase over the previous year.
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That extraordinary commercial and cultural footprint makes Crunchyroll's Anime Expo showcase all the more significant. The platform will host a dedicated celebration panel for Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle on July 3 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, running from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. PT. The event will include a special video related to the Infinity Castle saga and a preview of footage from Ufotable's next film project — a project that has not yet been publicly announced. For a franchise of this scale, the promise of unseen footage from animation studio Ufotable's next venture is extraordinary, and it signals that the studio, responsible for elevating Demon Slayer's animation to near-mythological status among anime fans, is already deep in its next creative chapter.
The panel will also bring together key members of the Japanese voice cast, including Natsuki Hanae, who voices protagonist Tanjiro Kamado; Takahiro Sakurai, who voices the stoic Hashira Giyu Tomioka; and Saori Hayami, the voice of Shinobu Kocho, who will be making her Anime Expo debut at the event. For the international fanbase, who have been following Tanjiro's journey since the original TV series premiered in 2019, the presence of the original voice cast at an event celebrating the trilogy's milestone is a powerful emotional draw.
Beyond the live panel, the streaming situation surrounding Infinity Castle has kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout June 2026. A confirmed streaming release date for the film surfaced through Amazon's Prime Video listings for Canadian subscribers, which indicated the film would arrive on Crunchyroll on July 29, 2026 — a date that would coincide with the film's official home media release in Japan. However, a representative for Prime Video Canada subsequently confirmed that the July 29 date was listed in error and has since been removed, with an official date to be announced at a later time. Whether that announcement arrives at Anime Expo or shortly after, the anticipation surrounding the film's home streaming debut has become a story of its own. The film was crowned Film of the Year at this year's Crunchyroll Anime Awards, making the question of when fans can revisit it from their living rooms one of the most-discussed topics in the anime community.
The celebration of Infinity Castle doesn't overshadow the rest of Crunchyroll's July agenda — if anything, it sets the tone for how seriously the platform is approaching this moment. The Anime Expo lineup also includes first looks at The Apothecary Diaries Season 3, Gachiakuta Season 2, and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3, representing three of the most critically acclaimed anime of the past two years all returning to the screen in succession.
Gachiakuta, Studio BONES' gritty dark fantasy series about a young man falsely accused of murder and thrown into a monster-filled underworld, burst onto the scene in the summer of 2025 and immediately claimed cultural territory. The anime took home Best New Series, Best Background Art, and Best Character Design at the 2026 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, a sweep that underscored just how forcefully it had arrived. Crunchyroll has confirmed that a dedicated Gachiakuta showcase, titled "Return to the Pit," will take place at the Peacock Theater on July 3, featuring voice actor Aoi Ichikawa, director Fumihiko Suganuma, and producer Naoki Amano. Attendees will receive an exclusive first look at new Season 2 footage before any public release. Studio BONES has not yet announced an official premiere window for Season 2, though the Anime Expo panel signals clearly that the production is moving forward and that the studio considers the franchise a central part of its future plans.
Equally significant is the return of Black Clover, the Shonen Jump juggernaut that concluded its original 170-episode run in March 2021 and has kept fans waiting for five years. The new season's first episode will receive an exclusive world premiere at a special Black Clover panel during Anime Expo 2026 on July 4, with the possibility of a new visual, a final trailer, and a release date also on the table. Reports indicate the series is targeting an October 2026 premiere, and the show's new director has been confirmed as Ayataka Tanemura, who previously served as assistant director on the original series and directed the feature film Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King. The new season will pick up the Spade Kingdom Raid arc, continuing directly from where the original series left off and promising some of the most anticipated battles in the franchise's history, including Asta deepening his bond with the devil Liebe. Crunchyroll will stream the new series internationally, and it will join a platform roster that already includes all 170 episodes of the original run.
Football drama Ao Ashi Season 2 is also expected to reveal promotional footage during the first week of July, with the possibility of a confirmed premiere window finally being announced for a series that developed a passionate following through its realistic portrayal of youth soccer in Japan.
Crunchyroll's three-day takeover of the Peacock Theater and Platinum Ballroom at Anime Expo also includes an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the production of Clevatess, a 10th anniversary celebration of Mob Psycho 100, and early screenings of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3, Returner's Magic Should Be Special Season 2, and Reborn as a Space Mercenary. New platform acquisitions, including Goodbye, Lara and Tomb Raider King, are also confirmed to arrive on Crunchyroll in July, expanding the platform's catalog at the same moment it's celebrating its marquee properties.
The scope of July 2026's anime landscape reflects something larger than a single convention's programming schedule. The medium has spent years building toward this kind of cultural moment — one where a Japanese animated film breaks 25-year-old Hollywood records and a streaming platform fills a Los Angeles theater with over 20 programming blocks across three consecutive days. Crunchyroll, Sony, and the studios behind these franchises have clearly recognized that anime's global audience is no longer a niche to be served quietly but a mainstream force to be celebrated loudly. Whether fans are waiting for Infinity Castle's streaming debut, counting the days until Asta's return in Black Clover, or eager to see Rudo descend back into the Pit, July 2026 is delivering the kind of concentrated, high-stakes anime news cycle that only arrives once in a generation.
