By Jeremy Fuster

September was expected to bring a big slowdown for the box office, but the “Dune”-level opening of “The Conjuring: Last Rites” has beaten back that bleak forecast, and now more help is coming from Sony/Crunchyroll’s “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle,” which after dominating the box office in Asia to the tune of $203 million alone in Japan is set to break U.S. records for an anime film.

While Sony is projecting a $35 million opening weekend for “Infinity Castle,” independent trackers are projecting a $40 million-plus start for the film, which will have Imax support. That would be enough to make “Infinity Castle” the highest anime opening weekend in American history before inflation adjustment.