Anime continues to dominate the North American box office this fall, proving once again that animated imports are no longer niche theatrical bets but bona fide crowd-pullers. Sony’s Crunchyroll release Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc opened at No. 1 this weekend with a razor-sharp $17.3 million debut.
It’s the fourth anime film in ten weeks to top the charts — following Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle and Netflix’s KPOP Demon Hunters. Together, these titles have grossed more than $167 million domestically, giving theaters a much-needed boost during a dry spell for major studio releases.
Animated by MAPPA and directed by Chainsaw Man veteran Tatsuya Yoshihara, Reze Arc continues directly from the hit TV series’s first season. Critics have been nearly unanimous, giving it a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences are head-over-heels with a 99% score. One critic summed it up perfectly: “Do you want to see a man made out of chainsaws or not?”
With a modest $15 million budget, the movie is already set to cross profitability within days, helped by strong showings across 80 international markets. It’s another win for Crunchyroll, which has cemented its status as a theatrical power player alongside the streaming giants.
Black Phone 2 Rings Up Second Place
Dropping 52% in its sophomore frame, Universal and Blumhouse’s Black Phone 2 took second with $13 million, bringing its 10-day total to $49.1 million domestically. While the drop is steeper than hoped heading into Halloween week, the film has already passed its $50 million break-even mark thanks to a lean $20 million budget.
Expect Blumhouse to go for a trilogy, but next time, they may want to aim for a summer release window.
Regretting You Lands Softly in Third
Paramount’s Regretting You, adapted from Colleen Hoover’s novel, opened with $12.9 million for a third-place finish. Critics panned the film (29% on Rotten Tomatoes), but audiences gave it an 88%, echoing the same love that turned Hoover’s previous adaptation It Ends With Us into a $351 million hit.
Directed by Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars), the film stars Allison Williams, McKenna Grace, Dave Franco, and Mason Thames in a mother-daughter story of heartbreak and healing. Whether it will have legs remains to be seen, but Hoover’s fanbase has carried bigger surprises to box office gold before.
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere Sings Fourth
In fourth place, Disney’s Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere opened with $9.1 million domestically and $16.1 million worldwide. The film, directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart), stars Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen during the making of his 1982 album Nebraska.
Springsteen himself endorsed White’s portrayal, calling him “a much better-looking version of me.” Critics are split (61% RT), but audiences were far more enthusiastic at 87%. Expect this one to have a long tail with both music fans and awards voters.
Tron: Ares Fades Fast
Rounding out the Top 5, Tron: Ares grossed $4.9 million in its third weekend, down 56%. With $63.4 million domestic and $123 million worldwide so far, Disney faces a steep uphill climb to recoup the film’s massive $180 million budget.
The studio’s attention is already shifting to its stacked Q4 slate — including Predator: Badlands (Nov. 7), Zootopia 2 (Nov. 26), and Avatar: Fire and Ash (Dec. 19).
Final Frame
Overall, the weekend brought in $74.9 million, down from last year’s $93.9 million total when Venom: The Last Dance dominated. With Halloween around the corner, theaters are hoping Focus Features’ Bugonia (from the team behind Poor Things) and Netflix’s KPOP Demon Hunters re-release can keep the momentum going.
Year-to-date, the 2025 box office is tracking 104% ahead of 2024 — though still only 75% of 2019’s pre-pandemic haul.
Anime, it seems, may be the unexpected hero keeping movie theaters alive this fall.
| Rank | Title | Distributor | Wk | Theatres | Weekend Gross | % Change | Avg./Theatre | Total Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc | Sony / Crunchyroll | 1 | 3,003 | $17,250,000 | — | $5,744 | $17,250,000 |
| 2 | Black Phone 2 | Universal | 2 | 3,460 | $13,000,000 | -52% | $3,757 | $49,053,000 |
| 3 | Regretting You | Paramount | 1 | 3,393 | $12,850,000 | — | $3,787 | $12,850,000 |
| 4 | Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere | 20th Century (Disney) | 1 | 3,460 | $9,100,000 | — | $2,630 | $9,100,000 |
| 5 | Tron: Ares | Disney | 3 | 2,940 | $4,900,000 | -56% | $1,667 | $63,367,203 |
| 6 | Good Fortune | Lionsgate | 2 | 2,990 | $3,100,000 | -50% | $1,037 | $11,799,000 |
| 7 | Shelby Oaks | NEON | 1 | 1,823 | $2,350,000 | — | $1,289 | $2,350,000 |
| 8 | One Battle After Another | Warner Bros. | 5 | 1,473 | $2,330,000 | -39% | $1,582 | $65,786,000 |
| 9 | Roofman | Paramount | 3 | 2,347 | $2,000,000 | -46% | $852 | $19,360,000 |
| 10 | ParaNorman (Re-release) | Fathom Events | 1 | 1,359 | $991,910 | — | $730 | $991,910 |
REELated:
Black Phone 2 rings up number one at Box Office
