Oscars Recap, Mortal Kombat and Demon Slayer Open Big, and the Future of Anime at the Box Office

Published: April 29, 2021, 9 a.m.

In this week’s episode of the Boxoffice Podcast, co-hosts Daniel Loria, Rebecca Pahle, and Shawn Robbins share their impressions of this year’s Academy Awards: a great shout-out in the pre-show but were movie theaters snubbed during the main broadcast? The panel also also looks at a record weekend at the pandemic box office with the debuts of Mortal Kombat and Demon Slayer. Mortal Kombat delivered the highest opening weekend for an R-rated movie during the pandemic and Demon Slayer emerged as a surprise crossover hit at the box office. What does Demon Slayer’s success tell us about the future potential of anime titles at the box office?