We all felt this coming with every sold-out weekend. Infinity Castle has now edged past Superman worldwide and claimed the crown for the year’s biggest comic book film. The gap is not cosmetic. It is a clean lead in total gross and a monster legs story built off repeat viewings and premium screens that stayed packed far beyond opening hype.
Why did it happen. First, eventization. The trilogy plan told fans that this chapter matters and the word of mouth never dipped. Second, format strategy. The theatrical cut is tuned for big rooms and the action set pieces are engineered for the kind of sound that makes your seat buzz. Third, fanbase behavior. The community treats new arcs like seasonal festivals. That means groups, merch, and a second ticket with a different friend who missed the first run.
The bigger takeaway is not a single victory lap. Anime features now anchor quarter plans for distributors in multiple markets. When a title like this outruns a western cape film, budgets and calendars move. Expect next year’s tentpoles to leave more breathing room when big anime chapters land and expect more premium formats reserved at launch.
If you are tracking milestones, the climb is still active. A domestic surge in the final month and late legs in Europe and Southeast Asia could nudge the total higher. If the sequel window tightens, momentum rolls forward without losing heat. Either way, this is the year theatrical anime stopped being the surprise line on the chart and became the plan.
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