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“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” carved out a place in box-office history this weekend as the Japanese anime film sliced straight to No. 1 outpacing the horror sequel “The Conjuring: Last Rites.”The Sony-owned Crunchyroll release shattered expectations with a mighty $70 million debut in North America, according to Sunday estimates from Comscore. That haul marks the biggest domestic opening ever for an anime film, surpassing “Pokémon: The First Movie,” which opened with $31 million in 1999.The film extended its meteoric run, scoring the biggest anime opening of all time with a $132.1 million weekend, according to Comscore. Crunchyroll and Sony rolled it out across North America and 49 international markets, pushing the global total to $177.8 million.“This performance by this particular film shows the unpredictability of the box office,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “If we were sitting here, let’s say a month or even a couple of weeks ago, would we be thinking, ‘Wow, a Japanese anime film would be number one at the box office, overperform and bring in $70 million?’ If you predicted that, kudos to you.”The movie is the first in a three-film trilogy that brings the hit Shonen saga to its climactic showdown. The story follows Tanjiro Kamado, a kind-hearted boy who takes up swordsmanship after his family is slaughtered and his sister, Nezuko, is turned into a demon. Together, they fight a supernatural underworld of monstrous foes while clinging to what’s left of their humanity.The “Infinity Castle” opener hails from renowned studio Ufotable, whose lavish visuals and breakneck fight sequences have helped make the franchise a global sensation and juggernaut.The film’s domination also points to a September rebound after a sluggish August. Warner Bros.’ “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” which opened to $83 million last weekend, slipped to second with $26 million.The horror sequel has now scared up $131 million domestically.“This shows that two months of down trending box office can be totally reversed over the course of a couple of weekends,” Dergarabedian said.Focus Features’ “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” opened in third with $18.1 million. Set in the 1930s, the film finds Lady Mary embroiled in a public scandal as the Crawleys confront financial strain and the looming threat of social disgrace. While the aristocratic family adapts to change, the household staff prepares for a new chapter with the next generation leading Downton into the future.In fourth place, Lionsgate’s “The Long Walk” debuted with $11.5 million. Directed by Francis Lawrence, the adaptation of Stephen King’s first-written novel is a thriller that asks a chilling question: “How far would you go to survive?”Pixar’s “Toy Story (30th Anniversary)” brought Buzz, Woody and the gang back to the big screen, opening in fifth with $3.5 million across 2,375 theaters. Warner Bros.’ “Weapons” followed in sixth with $2.75 million, while Disney’s filmed musical “Hamilton” landed seventh with $2.2 million. “Freakier Friday” claimed eighth with $2.1 million.Rounding out the top 10: “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” debuted with $1.6 million, narrowly edging “The Sound of Music (60th Anniversary),” which sang up $1.4 million.Dergarabedian said he expects more September good fortunes with the release of Jordan Peele’s horror film “HIM” next week and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” coming out this month.“September, after a very modest month of August, is proving to be an absolutely fantastic post-summer month for movies and for audiences and for movie theaters,” he said. Top 10 movies by domestic box office With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore: “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” $70 million “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” $26 million. “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale,” $18.1 million. “The Long Walk,” $11.5 million. “”Toy Story (30th Anniversary),” $3.5 million. “Weapons,” $2.75 million. “Hamilton,” $2.2 million. “Freakier Friday,” $2.1 million. “”Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” $1.6 million. “The Sound of Music (60th Anniversary),” $1.4 million. Jonathan Landrum Jr., AP Entertainment Writer
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The Ysabel restaurant in West Hollywood was full of stars, champagne, and plenty of gold trophies as Apple TV+ hosted a big after party on Sunday night following the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. Apple TV+ had reason to celebrate: The streaming platform scored 22 wins during television’s biggest night, with The Studio taking home 13 Emmy Awards, including outstanding comedy series and a lead actor accolade for actor and co-creator Seth Rogen. The show broke the record for most awards for an individual season from a freshman comedy. Slow Horses, another Apple TV+ show, also scored an Emmy for outstanding directing for a drama. While HBO Maxs medical drama The Pitt won the prize for best drama series, Apple TV+’s workplace sci-fi series Severance had a big night as well, garnering eight awardsincluding honors for Britt Lower and Tramell Tillman in the lead actress and outstanding supporting actor categories. With The Studio and Severance being some of the top winners, it seems as though Apple TV+ mightve learned from its past mistakes when it comes to marketing its shows. Apple has struggled to cut through the streaming noise Ted Lasso is the perhaps last show that made a splash for the streaming platform during awards season, earning a total of 11 Primetime Emmy Awards in 2021 and 2022. But beyond that, Apple TV+ has been seen in the past as struggling to break into the broader popular culture, despite no shortage of ambitious efforts. An article from Fast Company‘s Joe Berkowitz last year chalked the problem up to lackluster marketing efforts. But things appear to be changing. Indeed, when Severance first premiered in 2022, it debuted to widespread critical acclaim. But it didnt quite reach a larger audience until the second season premiered at the beginning of this year. In February, Apple reported that the show was its most-watched series, surpassing even Ted Lasso. Apple’s streaming growth relative to its competitors reflects its recent successes. According to a May 2025 research note from analyst firm MoffettNathansonwhich cited data from NielsenApple TV+ grew 37% year-to-date through April, making it the third fastest growing streaming platform behind The Roku Channel and Paramount+. Pop-ups, activations, events, and more Ahead of the second season of Severance, Apple TV+s marketing team came up with creative ways to promote the series, including deploying a few pop-up activations and immersive events. Before the season premiered, a pop-up glass box replicating an office setup was launched in New Yorks Grand Central Hall, with director Ben Stiller making an appearance alongside Adam Scott and the rest of the cast. Following the finale, the cast paid a visit to London for an installation where signature blue balloons from the show featuring the characters faces were released across landmarks like Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, the London Eye, and more. Apple TV+ also hosted an immersive event at Bell Works in Holmdel, New Jersey, which serves as the location for Lumon Industriesthe mysterious fictional company known in the series for its severance procedure. At the event, the cast appeared for a Q&A along with late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert. It seems as though Apple TV+ got more creative with its partnerships too. Last month, it partnered with Los Angeles-based luxury grocery chain Erewhon, letting customers recite Severance catchphrases to receive a free limited-edition drink. And along with the real life pop-ups and partnerships, Apple TV+ also incorporated digital components to increase its presence online and on social media, from creating a fictional LinkedIn page for Lumon, to producing a spot featuring a cameo from Apple CEO Tim Cook as a severed employee, to debuting a short-form video of the cast calling each other hot while singing to the tune of the Severance theme song. As for The Studio, Rogen is already somewhat of a marketing machine himself, known for popular movies like Superbad and Pineapple Express. When the trailer first premiered, it boasted an A-list cast, which included Martin Scorsese, Bryan Cranston, Charlize Theron, Zoë Kravitz, and more. Ahead of the Emmys, Rogen made sure to maintain a presence everywhere, showing up at Venice Film Festival earlier this month to reportedly explore locations and conduct research for the second season of The Studio. Whether or not Rogen and cryptic pop-ups are the secret sauce behind Apple TV+s broader success this year, it seems as though the streaming platform has learned to ramp up the kind of marketing that gets people talking.
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The U.S. will go ahead with a ban on short-video app TikTok if China wont drop demands for reducing tariffs and technological restrictions as part of a divestiture deal, a senior U.S. official with knowledge of negotiations said on Monday. U.S. and China delegations are discussing the divestment from TikTok by Chinese owner Bytedance as part of a round of broader talks on tariffs and economic policy taking place in Madrid. TikTok faces being shut down as early as Sept. 17 in the U.S. unless it moves to U.S. ownership. The Chinese delegation came to the Madrid talks with a fundamental misunderstanding of the U.S. position on TikTok, the official, who asked not to be named, said. Speaking to reporters earlier before Monday’s talks began, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said China wanted concessions on trade and technology in exchange for agreeing to divest from the popular social media app. “Our Chinese counterparts have come with a very aggressive ask,” Bessent said. “We will see if we can get there at present. We are not willing to sacrifice national security for a social media app,” he said. The U.S.-China negotiations at the Spanish foreign ministry’s baroque Palacio de Santa Cruz are the fourth round of talks in four months to address strained trade ties and a looming divestiture deadline for TikTok. They take place as Washington demands that its allies place tariffs on imports from China over Chinese purchases of Russian oil, which Beijing on Monday said was an attempt at coercion. “This is a typical act of unilateral bullying and economic coercion, a serious violation of the consensus reached by the Chinese and U.S. heads of state in their phone call, and could severely impact global trade as well as the stability of industrial and supply chains,” a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said in a press conference in Beijing. PROGRESS ON TECHNICAL DETAILS Bessent said both sides had made good progress on technical details but reaching a deal on other issues would be challenging. Extending the TikTok divestment deadline would depend largely on how talks went on Monday, he said. “From the Chinese perspective, they view as part and parcel of the potential TikTok deal a variety of matters, whether it’s tariffs or other measures that have been taken over years,” Greer said. “We still have to grind through negotiations and discussions of the common understanding, and I don’t think this is the moment to just pull all those things.” Chinese Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China had no new information to give. “Regarding TikTok, China has repeatedly stated its position,” Lin said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday. Adding further tension, China’s market regulator said on Monday that a preliminary investigation of Nvidia had found the U.S. chip giant had violated its anti-monopoly law. The probe is widely seen as a retaliatory shot against Washington’s curbs on the Chinese chip sector. Delegations led by Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng have met in European cities since May to try to resolve differences that prompted U.S. President Trump to raise tariffs on Chinese imports and sparked tit-for-tat measures, including similarly high import duties by China on U.S. goods and a halt in the flow of rare earths to the United States. The Trump administration, however, faces a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that could strike down the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods imposed this year, potentially weakening Trumps leverage over Beijing. A ruling is expected by early 2026. The delegations last met in Stockholm in July, where they agreed to extend for 90 days a trade truce that sharply reduced triple-digit retaliatory tariffs on both sides and restarted the rare-earth exports from China to the United States. LOW EXPECTATIONS Experts had low expectations of a significant breakthrough in Madrid. “I’m not expecting anything substantive between the United States and China unless and until there is a one-on-one meeting between Trump and (Chinese President) Xi,” said William Reinsch, a senior trade adviser at Washington think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Setting that up is really what these talks are all about.” Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but Reinsch said the Chinese would not agree to such a meeting until they knew the outcome and were pushing for further easing of U.S. export controls on chips and other high-tech goods. Even if a deal over Chinese divestment from TikTok was not reached it would not affect relations, Bessent added. “It’s still very good at the highest levels,” “Ambassador Greer and myself have great respect for all counterparts.” David Lawder and Pietro Lombardi, Reuters
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