Sony Pictures¡¯ ¡°Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle¡± has become the most popular movie in North American theaters, setting a new high for the Japanese anime genre.

The film, about a boy who joins an organization that hunts demons after his little sister is turned into one, brought in $70 million from the U.S. and Canada, the division of Sony Group said Sunday. That topped the previous $31 million record set by ¡°Pokemon: The First Movie ¡ª Mewtwo Strikes Back¡± in 1999.

Box Office Pro had forecast weekend sales of $60 million to $75 million.

The opening underscores the surging global appeal of Japanese anime.

Demon Slayer is based on a Japanese comic book series that has sold over 220 million copies and been adapted for TV, films and video games. The latest picture, distributed by Sony¡¯s Crunchyroll streaming service, is the first of a trilogy. It had already grossed about $280 million worldwide going into the weekend.

¡°Demon Slayer is anime at its best, from concept to execution,¡± said Rob Pereyda, founder at anime-focused consultancy Henshin in San Francisco. ¡°While anime itself is no longer counterculture in the U.S. like it was a generation ago, it is still providing a breath of fresh air to fans here.¡±

Sony demonstrated the broad appeal of its anime business earlier this year with ¡°KPop Demon Hunters,¡± a film made for Netflix. Within two months of release on the streaming service, the picture became Netflix¡¯s most-watched original film of all time.

¡°For Sony, this is a testament to its vision for anime: Aniplex produces incredible content, Crunchyroll taps into the anime community, and Sony Pictures uses its muscle for a historic release,¡± Pereyda said.

Aided by anime¡¯s growing popularity, Sony¡¯s entertainment business ¡ª spanning gaming, music, films and TV ¡ª has grown to about 60% of the group¡¯s sales.