Demon Slayer Tops 2025 Anime Film Rankings; Chainsaw Man Movie Achieves Record MAL Score

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Demon Slayer Wins Best Anime Movie at 50th Hochi Awards | Weebwire
© ufotable, Koyoharu Gotouge, Aniplex | variety.com

The 50th Hochi Film Awards have confirmed the box office dominance of the franchise, officially naming Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1 — Akaza's Return as the Best Anime Movie of 2025. The film was a massive earner throughout the year, setting new records not just within the anime feature space but across the entire Japanese film industry.

The competition was intense, however. Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc landed as the official runner-up. While its overall box office performance lagged behind Demon Slayer, the film secured exceptional critical ratings.

The Reze Arc movie currently holds the title of the highest-rated anime movie ever released on MyAnimeList, trailing only the TV property Frieren: Beyond Journey's End among all anime properties at the time of reporting.

Demon Slayer Wins Best Anime Movie at 50th Hochi Awards | Weebwire
© ufotable, Koyoharu Gotouge, Aniplex | www.imdb.com

Both major titles underscore the expanding mainstream footprint of the medium. While Demon Slayer commanded ticket sales globally, Chainsaw Man managed to claim the top domestic and US box office spot at different points during the year.

Beyond the new releases, 2025 also saw significant success for older titles returning to theaters. Both Mamoru Oshii's Angel's Egg and the 4K restoration of Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke managed to break into the U.S. top 10 charts during their limited runs.

The theatrical return of Princess Mononoke generated extra buzz when actor Michael B. Jordan publicly noted he missed the limited run. Fan interest eventually pushed for an extended showing, leading to a private screening for the actor. As fans now look ahead to the next two installments of the Demon Slayer trilogy, 2025 has clearly set a high bar for the industry.

Source:https://otakumantra.com/top-10-best-anime-movies-released-in-2025-according-to-japanese-fans/

Credits

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Infinity Castle Part 1 — Akaza's Return

Author

Koyoharu Gotouge

Cover Art

Hikaru Kondo

Studio

ufotable

Publisher

Aniplex of America, Crunchyroll

Producers

ufotableAniplexCrunchyroll
Credit #1
From Public Sources

Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc

Author

Tatsuki Fujimoto

Cover Art

Tatsuya Yoshihara

Studio

MAPPA

Publisher

Shueisha

Producers

MAPPA
Credit #1
From Public Sources

Angel's Egg

Author

Original Work

Cover Art

N/A

Studio

Toei Animation

Publisher

Netflix

Producers

Toei AnimationNetflix
Credit #1
From Public Sources

Princess Mononoke

Author

Hayao Miyazaki

Cover Art

Hayao Miyazaki

Studio

Studio Ghibli

Publisher

Studio Ghibli

Producers

Studio GhibliToei
Credit #1
From Public Sources