Solo Leveling ReAwakening Proves Sony’s Big-Screen Anime Gamble Is Going To Work

By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated 1 hour ago

The last few weeks have been setting records in Hollywood, with movie theaters running out of popcorn and candy every single day as audiences rush out to watch Wicked, Moana 2, and Gladiator 2. Look a little deeper into the box office reports though, and you’ll find what might be the biggest surprise of the Holiday season: Solo Leveling ReAwakening. The anime film that isn’t an actual new movie in the hit isekai series is nothing more than a recap of Season 1 and the first two episodes of Season 2, yet the Sony-produced film has made over $5 million worldwide.

A Feature-Length Advertisement

Considering the film is comprised of existing footage and two episodes that are going to be broadcast on television in January, that $5 million box office haul is incredibly impressive. Solo Leveling ReAwakening has been a huge hit in the United States, where it earned over $3 million, and that has made Sony incredibly happy. Earlier this year, Sony executives said they wanted to bring more anime films into American theaters, and here we have proof that even a glorified advertisement can turn a profit with minimal investment.

Sony has become the biggest name in anime since acquiring Crunchyroll, but if the rumored acquisition of Kadokawa, one of Japan’s largest manga and anime publishers, ends up going through, it will have a stranglehold on the entire industry. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, with anime hotter than ever. Solo Leveling ReAwakening doesn’t have even half the appeal of Demon Slayer, the worldwide hit anime ditching television for movies, so if a new isekai can turn thousands into millions, what’s a big-screen adaptation of the Infinite Castle arc going to do?

Solo Leveling Is Incredibly Popular

Here’s where I’ll admit that I’m not a big fan of Solo Leveling; even though I did see Solo Leveling ReAwakening in theaters, my current isekai of choice is still Rising of the Shield Hero. And while it’s more of a reverse isekai with monsters coming through portals into the world of humans, it hits a lot of the same story beats, but I do enjoy the hero, Sung Jin-Woo, and the revelation of the Season 1 finale makes him even more interesting in Season 2.

Jin-Woo’s unique ability to level up makes him stand out among the other Hunters in Solo Leveling ReAwakening, who are locked into the levels they were granted upon awakening to their powers. It’s a simple premise, but the Job Change quest at the end of Season 1 changed everything about where I thought the story was going, and then “The Red Gate” arc that kicks off Season 2 throws more twists into what was, until then, a fairly standard adventure anime underneath the surface. I will say, up on the big screen, scenes from Season 1 that I first saw while streaming looked much, much better, and I’m now excited to see more of what’s coming in Season 2.

Sony’s Path To Anime Domination

Solo Leveling ReAwakening is a blatant advertisement, but there’s still something novel about seeing an anime in a movie theater, and I think Sony is making the right move to bring more and more movies over to the United States. With a theatrical budget of near zero, Sony might make more on their anime advertisement than Warner Bros will their anime-influenced Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim, which is currently projected to make around $7 million in its opening weekend. It’s hard to believe the same company that gave us Madame Web and Morbius is also lifting anime to brand-new heights and printing money in the process.

Solo Leveling is available to stream on Crunchyroll, which, by the way, is owned by Sony.