20/08/2025

LYFE WEDNESDAY | AUG 20, 2025

25

Weapons tops box office BUZZY horror film Weapons won the North American box office for a second week running with US$25 million (RM105.7 million) in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday. The Warner Bros movie starring Julia Garner ( Ozark ) and Josh Brolin ( Avengers: Infinity War ) tells the story of the mysterious disappearance of a group of children from the same school class. Analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research called it a “strong” week-two performance, especially in a quiet summer weekend at the movies in the US and Canada. Holding in second place was Disney’s Freakier Friday starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, the much-anticipated sequel to the 2003 body-swapping family film, at US$14.5 million, Exhibitor Relations said. Debuting in third place was Universal action sequel Nobody 2 , starring Bob Odenkirk of Better Call Saul fame, at US$9.3 million. “Critics like this story about a workaholic assassin trying to take a vacation with his family while getting caught up in trouble. Reviews and audience scores are very good,” Gross said. The Fantastic Four: First Steps , Disney’s reboot of the Marvel Comics franchise, dropped to fourth place at US$8.8 million. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Emmy winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach star as the titular team of superheroes, who must save a retro-futuristic world from the evil Galactus. Universal’s family-friendly animation sequel The Bad Guys 2 , about a squad of goofy animal criminals actually doing good in their rebranded lives, dropped to fifth, earning US$7.5 million. Rounding out the top 10 were: 0 Superman (US$5.3 million) 0 The Naked Gun (US$4.8 million) 0 Jurassic World: Rebirth (US$2.9 million)

Others in the Corps, such as Sanemi Shinazugawa, will play a role in the second Infinity Castle film.

Demon Slayer ’s final arc begins

MOVIE REVIEW

A FTER 63 episodes spread across four seasons over a period of five years, the Demon Slayer anime has entered the final phase of its grand storytelling with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle – Part 1: Akaza Returns . Following the climactic battle between the Demon King Muzan and the Demon Slayer Corps at the end of the fourth season, Muzan has escaped into the Infinity Castle, his constantly shifting interdimensional stronghold. As per his plan, he also pulls in almost the entirety of the Corps. Transported from different locations in the living world, the Corps’ Hashira-ranked and regular members find themselves not only separated from each other, but also forced into the final battle with Muzan and his demon army against overwhelming odds. For this film, the major antagonists are the Upper Rank demons Doma (Mamoru Miyano), Kaigaku (Yoshimasa Hosoya) and Akaza (Akira Ishida). Fighting them are Shinobu Kocho (Saori Hayami), Zenitsu Agatsuma (Hiro Shimono), Giyu Tomioka (Takahiro Sakurai) and series lead Tanjiro Kamado (Natsuki Hanae). Though the film may seem overstuffed with characters, Part 1 has the benefit of having a rather long run time, at a little over two and a half hours. Due to that, animation studio Ufotable and director Haruo Sotozaki have a lot of breathing room with how they balance the film between the main characters and the Upper Rank demon they have to fight. Additionally, the other leads are still in Part 1 but they are only briefly shown to set up what the Corps will face next in Part 2 , whenever that film comes out. The first film in a trilogy, Infinity Castle – Part 1 essentially sets the foundation, atmosphere and stakes for where the story is heading to and it does a fantastic job in each department. Though the moving, dramatic storytelling – especially the flashbacks and o Infinity Castle – Part 1 delivers stunning animation, intense battles Ű BY MARK MATHEN VICTOR

backstory to certain Upper Rank demons – and directing is to be expected from Ufotable and Sotozaki at this point, the real, in-your-face improvement is the action and animation. Without mincing words, the film is probably the best display of how far Japanese animation has come, particularly at blending computer-generated imagery and hand-drawn 2D animation. There are no bad action sequences here and every fight is jaw-dropping, from the icy confrontation between Shinobu and Doma, to Zenitsu and Kaigaku’s electric swordplay and finally, the icing on Part 1 ’s cake, the lengthy portions dedicated to Tanjiro and Giyu attempting to survive Akaza’s relentless martial arts prowess. The film is simply stellar, front to back, and deserves to be watched in a cinema for the full experience. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle – Part 1: Akaza Returns is playing in cinemas.

0 F1: The Movie (US$2.7 million) 0 Coolie (US$2.4 million) – AFP

The film opens with Tanjiro and the other Corps members free-falling into the castle.

0 Cast: Natsuki Hanae, Hiro Shimono, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Reina Ueda, Akira Ishida 0 Director: Haruo Sotozaki E-VALUE 9 ACTING 8 PLOT 8

Weapons wins the North American box office for a second week. – PIC FROM INSTAGRAM @WEAPONSMOVIE

Designated as the Upper Rank Three demon, Akaza is the primary antagonist in Part 1 .