Demon Slayer Leads Opening Night Box Office With a $33 Million Splash, Downton Abbey Finale Tries to Keep Up

A snappy cinema surge on Friday sent the box office into high gear, led by Demon Slayer: Kimesu no Yaiba Infinity Castle and boosted by Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, as fans flocked to theaters for a weekend preview. I’m Jordan Collins, your slightly superior guide who assumes you probably need a hand decoding these numbers without turning this into a spreadsheet lecture. So yes, you probably want the short version: Demon Slayer kicked things off with a robust opening day, while Downton Abbey returned for its grand conclusion, and the rest of the lineup offered a mix of chills, nostalgia, and a little sorcery in the air.

Demon Slayer claims the top spot with a commanding 33 million dollars on its opening day, according to The Numbers. This installment, part of the long-running anime franchise created by Koyoharu Gotouge, continues the trend of massive worldwide fanfare for Japanese anime adaptations. The Infinity Castle chapter serves as a key bridge within the trilogy of films that have kept the Demon Slayer universe front and center in genre conversations. The movie’s Friday performance clearly signals strong appetite for high-octane animation, cinematic battles, and a storyline that has kept fans returning to theaters again and again.

In second place, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale brought in 8.85 million dollars on its first full day in theaters. This chapter is billed as the last in the beloved British drama franchise, a sentimental send-off for fans who have tracked the Crawley family through precise period detail, evolving relationships, and a public-admired sense of etiquette. Yet while the finale managed to rake in notable numbers, it did not surpass the original 2019 Downton Abbey film, which opened with around 14 million. The current performance matters, though, because it confirms a strong post-pandemic return for prestige dramas when paired with a new release cycle or an events-driven release.

Rounding out the top three on opening day is The Conjuring: Last Rites, with approximately 8.4 million dollars. The long-running horror franchise has maintained a respectable pull for audiences seeking supernatural suspense, and this Friday tally reflects continued interest in paranormal investigators played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. After eight days in theaters, the Conjuring installment has tallied over 113 million in domestic gross to date, underscoring the franchise’s staying power in the haunted-hallway niche.

Also noteworthy is Disney’s Toy Story re-release, which chalked up about 1.1 million in ticket sales on Friday. While not setting box office records, the nostalgia-driven return clearly demonstrates how mature audiences still value classic animated chapters, even decades later. The top five is completed by Weapons, which earned around 850,000 on its sixth Friday, reflecting a steadier, smaller-scale attendance pattern that cinema owners monitor closely as month-to-month comparisons shift.

If you’re mapping a weekend trip to the multiplex, these numbers reveal more than just who edged out whom. They illustrate a broader trend: audiences remain engaged by a mix of high-energy anime, beloved period dramas, chilling horror franchises, and a pinch of classic animation nostalgia. Each title pulls slightly different levers—angle, tone, and reward—yet all rely on the enduring pull of the big screen social experience. And yes, this is exactly the kind of data that helps studios plan future release windows, marketing pushes, and even theater siting to optimize footprint and scheduling.

What happens next depends on word-of-mouth, Friday-to-weekend momentum, and the evolving appetite for each genre. Will Demon Slayer sustain its lead, or will Downton Abbey’s finale convert wider audiences into a surprising late surge? The answer unfolds in theaters nationwide as families, fans, and casual moviegoers decide which screen is worth their time this weekend. Keep an eye on the numbers as Saturday and Sunday matinee and evening sales pour in, because the box office rarely sleeps—especially when there are blockbuster debates to settle and endings to savor.

And yes, I know you wanted the blunt takeaway: big anime energy, traditional prestige drama endurance, and a horror series that still knows how to scare. Consider this your spoiler-free takeaway—plus a forecast for the weekend crowd dynamics you probably didn’t realize you needed. Now go enjoy the credits roll and the next rumor mill rumor you’ll inevitably chase.

Sources: Celebrity Storm and New York Post
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed (GO)