The 83rd Golden Globe Awards nominations have arrived, and two of the year’s biggest animated hits, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle and KPop Demon Hunters are officially in the race for Best Motion Picture - Animated. It’s a milestone moment for both films, but especially for Demon Slayer, which continues shattering box office records around the world.
The highly anticipated Infinity Castle film, the first entry in the trilogy adapting the final arc of Demon Slayer, debuted in Japan on July 18th and immediately became a runaway phenomenon. As of its 60th day in theaters, the film had already sold over 23 million tickets and earned 33.05 billion yen (around US$224 million), surpassing Spirited Away to become the second highest-grossing film in Japanese history. Globally, the movie has now earned more than 106 billion yen (roughly US$685 million) making it both the highest earning anime film of all time and the highest earning Japanese film ever released worldwide. No animated feature has ever cemented itself so decisively in global box office history.
The Golden Globes also recognized Sony Pictures Animation’s KPop Demon Hunters, another breakout success story. The film scored nominations for Best Motion Picture - Animated and the new Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category, as well as a nod for Best Original Song ("Golden"). The Netflix hit made history earlier this year when it became the first Netflix film to top the U.S. weekend box office, earning US $19.2 million through its theatrical Sing-Along Event rollout.
Its streaming success has been equally explosive. The movie quickly became Netflix’s most-streamed film of all time with 236 million views, passing Red Notice, and later became the first title on the platform to surpass 300 million views globally. Its cultural footprint extended into music as well as four songs from its soundtrack simultaneously entered the Billboard Hot 100’s weekly Top 10 in the United States, something no soundtrack has ever achieved.
Other contenders in the Golden Globes’ animated category include Zootopia 2, Elio, Arco, and Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, making this one of the most competitive years for animation in recent memory. Last year’s winner was Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, a reminder that Japanese animation has consistently delivered world class cinematic experiences.
With Demon Slayer dominating the global box office and KPop Demon Hunters dominating streaming platforms, both films enter the Golden Globes with strong momentum. Whether this historic moment translates into award wins remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: anime and international animation have never been more central to global entertainment than they are right now.