Insight: How Major Brands Like Toyota And McDonald’s Are Embracing Anime Fandom In The United States

Crunchyroll is about to announce a #2 box office opening for Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training raking in just north of $10 million which is impressive when you consider the compilation film features the Swordsmith Village Arc finale which has been streaming on the aforementioned streamer for a few months now followed by the Hashira Training Arc season premiere that is slated to premiere sometime later this year.

Deadline’s breakdown of the audiences coming out for the feature-length film was quite fascinating and you can see below some of the highlights:

Demon Slayer devotees gave this edition a B+, which is the same grade they gave last year’s big screen version of the anime toon. ComScore/Screen Engine PostTrak audiences gave it an 84% positive and a 68% definite recommend. Male leaning at 66% with 75% of those who bought tickets between 18-34 and 25-34 the biggest demo at 45%. Diversity demos were 43% Latino and Hispanic, 23% Caucasian, 13% Black and 14% Asian. IMAX and PLF screens are responsible for a third of the weekend’s ticket sales as Demon Slayer slayed in South Central, West and Mountain regions. AMC Burbank is the highest grossing theater so far with a near $19K since Thursday.

Thank God for Crunchyroll during depressed times at the box office; they can fill the void.

Note that anime here in America is doing what it should be doing and that’s identifying its core audiences and leveraging those. In this case, Crunchyroll is attracting diverse young male buyers and are doing so without having to race/gender-bait (see Sony’s Madame Web) like most major Hollywood studios do nowadays towards audiences. Major brands are taking note of this and tailoring their advertisement efforts as a result, with Toyota and McDonald’s, arguably the two most iconic brands in their respective categories taking notice. While both brands have done anime-produced promotional efforts in Japan for decades, the practice of doing so here in America has long been ignored, but if you recall from our Insight post from just before the end of 2023, we noted that Gen-Z’s anime fandom has been by far the most rabid for Instagram, brands like Toyota and McDonald’s are wanting a taste.

Toyota has announced earlier this week that they have commissioned a new anime series entitled GRIP. GRIP is a high-octane original anime series that combines heart-pounding action, adrenaline-fueled races, and a battle between the human spirit and computer control. Check out the trailer below:

McDonald’s is readying a launch of actual WcDonald’s locations starting February 26th. The home of the Big Mac has teamed up with Studio Pierrot to produce a number of anime shorts inspired by the fact that anime for YEARS has long-featured the WcDonald’s brand as an homage to the fast food chain with billions and billions served. Starting March 9-10 McDonald’s will in fact stylize select locations to that of actual WcDonald’s locations complete with multi-sensory dining experience with a genre-bending fusion of entertainment and food, with special menu items being made available for the occasion. You can get more information here.

This isn’t the first time that brands in America have attempted to leverage animation to bring additional eyeballs to live-action experiences. Back in 2009, FOX did a whole scavenger hunt featuring easter eggs inspired by The Simpsons showing up across FOX’s live-action television slate including Bones. Subway (Family Guy), Butterfinger (The Simpsons) , Wendy’s (Rick and Morty), and others have had success in doing the same, but now it’s anime’s time to shine.