Anime Box Office Power: ‘Chainsaw Man’ Debuts at $17.2M While ‘Springsteen’ Biopic Underperforms

The Unstoppable Rise of Anime in North American Theaters

The North American box office delivered a clear message this weekend: anime is a theatrical force that can no longer be underestimated. Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc, the latest release from Sony’s Crunchyroll, secured the number one spot with a powerful debut, while the highly anticipated biopic Springsteen struggled to find an audience, significantly underperforming expectations.

Chainsaw Man, based on the globally popular manga and anime series, grossed an impressive $17.2 million across 3,003 theaters in its opening frame. This victory is the latest in a string of high-profile successes for anime features, confirming that dedicated fanbases are willing to turn out in massive numbers for cinematic events.

In stark contrast, the Warner Bros. biopic Springsteen, detailing the early life and career of the iconic musician, managed only $9.1 million from a wider release of 3,500 theaters. The soft opening underscores the challenges faced by traditional dramas and biopics in a market increasingly dominated by franchise films and event cinema.

Crunchyroll Solidifies Event Cinema Strategy

The success of Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc is not an anomaly but rather the continuation of a strategic effort by Crunchyroll and Sony to position major anime titles as must-see theatrical events. The $17.2 million opening places it among the top anime film debuts in recent years, following the precedent set by hits like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen 0.

This performance demonstrates several key factors driving the anime box office:

• Built-in Global Fanbase: The Chainsaw Man property already boasts a massive, highly engaged audience eager to consume content in premium formats (IMAX, Dolby Cinema) on opening weekend.
• Event Scheduling: Anime films are often released with limited runs or special event screenings, creating urgency and driving concentrated ticket sales in the initial days.
• Demographic Shift: The core audience for anime—younger viewers, particularly Gen Z—are proving to be the most reliable demographic for theatrical attendance in the post-2020 market.

For Crunchyroll, this success validates their investment in theatrical distribution, transforming what was once a niche market into a reliable source of significant box office revenue.

The Biopic Conundrum: Why Springsteen Stumbled

The $9.1 million opening for Springsteen is a disappointing figure for a film centered on one of music’s most enduring figures, especially considering its wide distribution in 3,500 locations. Industry analysts had projected an opening closer to the mid-teens, suggesting a significant gap between anticipation and actual turnout.

Several factors likely contributed to the film’s soft debut:

Competition and Timing

Despite the lack of direct competition in the drama category, the sheer dominance of the anime release and holdovers from major blockbusters likely siphoned off younger audiences. Furthermore, biopics often rely heavily on older, more casual moviegoers, a demographic that has been slower to return to theaters consistently.

Audience Conversion

While Bruce Springsteen’s name recognition is immense, converting that recognition into opening weekend ticket sales for a dramatic film proved difficult. Unlike musical biopics that focus on high-energy concert footage or major historical moments, films focusing on early struggles often require strong critical reviews and word-of-mouth to build momentum, which takes time.

“The results show a clear bifurcation in the market. Audiences are prioritizing spectacle and communal experiences, which anime delivers perfectly. A character-driven drama, even one about an icon, needs exceptional buzz to compete for that crucial opening weekend dollar,” noted one box office analyst.

Key Takeaways from the Weekend Box Office

This weekend’s results highlight the evolving priorities of the theatrical audience in 2025, emphasizing the power of global IP and event-driven cinema over traditional star power.

• Anime is Mainstream: Chainsaw Man‘s $17.2 million debut confirms that anime is a reliable, high-grossing genre that rivals major studio tentpoles.
• Crunchyroll’s Strategy Pays Off: Sony’s investment in theatrical distribution for its anime properties continues to yield substantial financial returns.
• Biopics Face Headwinds: The $9.1 million opening for Springsteen demonstrates that even films about cultural legends struggle to generate immediate, massive turnout without compelling critical consensus or strong early marketing.
• The Event Model Wins: Films that offer a unique, communal experience—whether through animation quality, fan engagement, or large-scale action—are consistently outperforming traditional dramas in the opening frame.

What’s Next

The strong performance of Chainsaw Man sets a high bar for upcoming specialized releases and will likely encourage other distributors to accelerate their theatrical plans for international and niche intellectual property. Meanwhile, Springsteen will rely heavily on positive word-of-mouth and sustained interest over the coming weeks to recoup its production and marketing costs, a challenging path given the soft start. The industry will be closely watching to see if the anime momentum continues through the summer season of 2025.