Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Falls Short to KPop Demon Hunters at Golden Globes

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle failed to secure the top prize tonight at the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards. The feature lost the Best Animated Motion Picture category to KPop Demon Hunters, marking the first official setback for the franchise in the 2026 awards circuit after a dominant run last year.

The film faced stiff competition, including Zootopia 2, Elio, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, and Arco. KPop Demon Hunters secured the win with its 95-minute runtime. Infinity Castle ran significantly longer at 155 minutes, making it the longest nominated feature by a wide margin. This runtime even exceeded the 150-minute length of the previous hit, Mugen Train.

Securing the nomination was a significant achievement for the production. Infinity Castle is one of the few R-rated animated films to ever compete in this category. A win would have made history as the first R-rated feature to take the prize. Its status as a direct sequel within a long-running series also set it apart from the typically standalone nominees in the category.

The awards road is not yet finished for the ufotable production. Infinity Castle successfully made the BAFTA longlist for Best Animated Film. There it will face rivals like The Bad Guys 2 and some of the other Globes nominees. Notably, KPop Demon Hunters did not qualify for the BAFTA list. Fans still await the Oscar nominations announcement on January 22.

For those following the source material, Infinity Castle launched the ambitious trilogy adapting the manga's Infinity Castle arc. ufotable’s animation work on the film was widely praised for pushing visual boundaries during the epic battle sequences. Despite the high quality and historic nomination, KPop Demon Hunters ultimately took the spotlight this evening.