After much back-and-forth from fans and critics, James Gunn’s Superman has been proven to be an unapologetic success. Not only has the film been a mᴀssive hit with fans and critics alike, but with an opening weekend box office of approximately $220 million, it’s already one of the most successful movies of 2025 and one of the most successful Superman movies, in general.

Superman is already a mᴀssive success, but that’s not the case everywhere. While Superman is doing amazing in the domestic market, it’s doing considerably worse in the international market, with Superman only opening to about $95 million internationally and projected to do worse in the following weeks. Many reasons can explain Superman’s poor performance overseas, but for Japan, specifically, Superman might be failing because it’s in direct compeтιтion with the biggest anime movie of the year.

Japanese Fans Are Rejecting Superman In Favor Of The New Demon Slayer Movie

Superman Has Nothing On Demon Slayer In Japan

If there’s any reason why Superman might be failing in Japan, specifically, it’s because of the new Demon Slayer movie, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. Infinity Castle releases in Japan this week, and with how limited the average person’s time is and how Demon Slayer continues to be one of the biggest franchises in modern anime, it seems like Superman might be failing in Japan because people are saving their money for Infinity Castle.

That idea is hardly pure conjecture, of course. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’s ticket sales were mᴀssive to the point of selling out in a single day and crashing most websites; meanwhile, Superman had its worst performance in Japan with only $2.5 million in the opening weekend, and one Japanese theater has reportedly only sold a single IMAX showing for Superman on the day of Infinity Castle’s premiere while the latter is practically sold out, so it’s clear which one Japanese audiences are more taken with.

Superman’s Poor Overseas Performance Is Simpler Than People Think

The Real Reason Superman Isn’t Doing Well Overseas

It’s clear that Superman is failing in Japan and other foreign territories, but that’s easier to explain than people think. As good as Superman might be, overexposure to comic book films in recent years, combined with increasingly poor performances from Marvel and DC, have made comic book films nowhere near the guaranteed hits they once were, so despite being a great film, Superman’s poor performance overseas is simply a consequence of the ongoing rejection of comic book films by general audiences.

All of that perfectly illustrates why Superman is losing to Demon Slayer in Japan; Demon Slayer is still incredibly popular worldwide, so when it comes down to it, fans will pick it over a movie with far less certainty, even with good reviews. Superman will go down as an undeniable success, but unfortunately, there’s too much working against it for it to overcome Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and other films in the foreign market.