The unstoppable force of anime in 2025 will smash the box office with katana blows.

“Hinokami Kagura” (“Dance of the Fire God”), shouts young Tanjiro as his katana is filled with fire before severing the head of a demon. It’s a cry that has echoed in cinemas across Spain since the 12th, when Guardians of the Night: The Infinite Fortress was released. This animated film continues the story of the famous anime and not only reached number one at the box office, but also made history in Spain by grossing €3.3 million, breaking, as if it were the body of a demon, the record for the best opening for an animated film, held since 2003 by Shin Chan: Quest for the Lost Balls . By 2025, Asian animation has become a cultural and economic force impossible to ignore: what for decades was considered a niche phenomenon for amateurs has transformed into a driving force that dominates the global box office, conquering streaming and redefining consumption patterns of global entertainment. Japan, China, and South Korea are the main hubs of this revolution, but the impact is felt across the globe.

Infinite Fortress adapts the final chapter of the work created by Koyoharu Gotōge, which was published between 2016 and 2020 in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine , the historic hotbed of global phenomena such as Dragon Ball , Naruto , and One Piece . The leap from paper to the big screen has been explosive: in Japan, the film premiered on July 18 and has become the second highest-grossing in the country's history ($223.43 million), surpassed only by its predecessor, Guardians of the Night: Infinity Train . In the United States, where it premiered last Friday, it also broke the opening record for an anime film , with almost $70 million. The film, which has also broken the opening record for an animated film in the United Kingdom, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and Australia, is clear proof of an increasingly established trend.

“When we started 25 years ago, animation was a niche, but in that time we've seen how it's grown and how it's leapt into the mainstream ,” says Patricia Fernández of SelectaVisión, a film production and distribution company specializing in Japanese animation. “In recent years, animation has become established thanks to the power of its fans: kids for whom Night Watch , Dragon Ball , or Pokemon aren't movies, but rather a way of life .” For Fernández, the turning point in cinema was Akira (1988), the iconic animated film that became a global phenomenon and which SelectaVisión has re-released several times in Spain, most recently four years ago.

The company does not distribute Infinite Fortress (which is distributed directly internationally by Sony), but it did distribute the previous film in the saga, Infinity Train , released in 2021 and which, Fernández acknowledges, “completely got out of hand.” “There was fear, because it was right after the pandemic, but it was a resounding success, it was number one in Spain,” says Fernández, who points out that other recent SelectaVisión films, such as Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2019) or One Piece Film Red (2022) also reached number one in the country. “Anyway, the big phenomenon until now had been Your Name (2016), and that didn't have a manga or anime behind it, just the name of its director, Makoto Shinkai , and it was a phenomenon that also reached number one at the box office.”

A global phenomenon

This year, China has proven, in the field of animation, that its domestic market is capable of sustaining phenomena of gigantic proportions. Ne Zha 2 , released during the Lunar New Year, has become the highest-grossing animated film of all time , surpassing giants Pixar and Disney. With more than €1.7 billion accumulated almost entirely within China, the sequel confirms that domestic animation no longer needs Western validation to succeed. Ne Zha, a mythological character reimagined in a modern way, has connected with several generations of viewers, and its massive success proves that animation can be an instrument of cultural pride and, at the same time, a profitable industry on the level of Hollywood.

“The key is that, right now, as is already the case with video games, two or three generations coincide for which anime is relevant,” says Francisco Asensi, animation expert and audiovisual business and innovation advisor. “This year we've seen an explosion, but it's a trend that's been happening for years: there are products like One Piece that have been reaching a mass audience for decades ,” explains Asensi, who emphasizes the relocalization of the phenomenon: “It's curious that one of Netflix's biggest animated hits in recent years is Blue-Eyed Samurai , a French production that has managed to understand Asian narrative codes and translate them to the West.”

Another key to the phenomenon is that the Asian influence isn't limited to Japan and China. South Korea has provided one of the most talked-about surprises of the year with K-pop Demon Hunters , a film produced in the United States but directly inspired by the aesthetics, music, and narrative of Korean K-pop . Released on Netflix, the film tells the adventures of a group of young singers who, in addition to singing and dancing, must face demons. The result: an unprecedented success on the platform, with more than 236 million views in just a few months, making it the most-watched film in Netflix history.

Undercurrent

Crunchyroll, the anime- focused streaming platform, has established itself as a key player in this story, as the technological and distribution infrastructure behind this boom has allowed Asian anime to cross borders. Sony acquired it in 2020 for $1.175 billion. “ Crunchyroll is the platform that has brought Sony the most happiness ,” explains Asensi. “When they acquired it, it was a risky move, but time has proven them right.” At the time, Crunchyroll had around 90 million registered users, but it was still seen as a space for a limited audience. Today, the gamble has paid off, with 150 million users worldwide (17 million paying). The simultaneous streaming model, which allows premieres to be watched almost simultaneously in Japan and abroad, has been a game-changer and has helped generate viral phenomena.

The success of Demon Slayer , Ne Zha 2 , and K-pop Warriors isn't isolated, but rather part of a larger trend that reflects profound changes in global culture. "This content comes in the backpack of the new generations," summarizes Asensi, who points out that Asian narratives offer something that Hollywood sometimes seems to have worn out: visual freshness, fantasy worlds with different cultural roots, and characters that connect through emotion and epicness. "Those who don't like it will have to put up with it," he concludes, "because the phenomenon is simply here to stay."