(VOR News) – The film “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” has been purchased by Crunchyroll, and it will be distributed to theaters all around the world as part of a trilogy of films.

The three films will be distributed worldwide by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment, with the exception of specific areas in Asia and Japan being excluded from the distribution. There is no information available regarding the publication dates.

The three-part cinematic features are a representation of the completion of the last arc and the finale of the hugely popular and award-winning anime shonen series.

As Crunchyroll’s president, Rahul Purini stated, “We are delighted to have been a part of the ‘Demon Slayer’ franchise from the very beginning.”

“We appreciate the opportunity to become a part of this franchise.” “Crunchyroll is thrilled to present this trilogy of films to its fans on the big screen, and it is expected to be among the most significant and influential pop cultural events of our generation.”

A manga series based on the work of Gotoge Koyoharu, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” has been published by the Jump Comics division of Shueisha since 2018.There have been more than 150 million copies of this collection, which consists of 23 volumes.

Kamado Tanjiro, whose family is killed by a demon, joins the Demon Slayer Corps in order to restore his younger sister Nezuko to her human form after she has become a demon. Here is the beginning of the story.

“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba”‘s “Tanjiro Kamado,

Unwavering Resolve Arc” was the first episode shown in April 2019. A motion picture entitled “Mugen Train” was released in October of 2020, and two television series entitled “Mugen Train Arc” and “Entertainment District Arc” ran in the years 2021 and 2022, respectively. The “Swordsmith Village Arc” was made available on Crunchyroll in the year 2023, little than a year after the theatrical release of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village.”

The “Hashira Training Arc” was made available to the public in the year 2024, not long after the theatrical release of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To Hashira Training.” The animation creation was handled by ufotable.

“To the Swordsmith Village,” “Mugen Train,” and “To the Hashira Training,” the three most recent films, have all been commercially successful and have garnered a lot of positive feedback from audiences.

“Mugen Train” has made more than $500 million to this day, making it the highest-grossing anime film of all time and the highest-grossing Japanese film at the box office around the world. It currently holds the position of being the second highest grossing anime film in the history of the box office in the United States.

Crunchyroll is currently offering “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” for streaming, and it is currently available for viewing.

In 2021, Sony completed the acquisition of Crunchyroll and then combined it with Funimation, the company’s own anime streaming platform. On the other hand, the firm made the decision to keep the Crunchyroll name and continue to develop it as a streaming and theatrical participant.

The firm is a joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is situated in the United States, and Aniplex, which is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. Crunchyroll LLC is a company that operates independently. At the end of the day, both are subsidiaries of the Sony Group, which has its headquarters in Tokyo.

In a separate development, Sony has recently revealed that it will be establishing an institution with the purpose of fostering the creative potential of anime directors.

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BET Awards Return Sunday With Performances From Lauryn Hill, Childish Gambino, Will Smith And More

Will Smith Debuts New Song In Fiery Performance At The BET Awards

Enrica Cenzatti Biography: Everything You Need to Know

Will Smith brought flames and faith to the BET Awards stage on Sunday.

Smith returns to his musical origins with the release of his new single, “You Can Make It.” In the gospel-inspired tune, Smith, accompanied by Fridayy and the Sunday Service Choir, raps about perseverance.

Will Smith Debuts New Song In Fiery Performance At The BET Awards

“The darker the hell you gotta endure / The brighter the heaven you get to enjoy / The harder the fall, the higher you soar,” Smith rapped as spectacular fire engulfed the stage. His words, a testament to his resilience, echoed through the audience, inspiring them. “God opens a window when the devil closes the door / Believe me, they tried to bleed Will Smith / In the rearview, I see adversity was the gift / To lift me higher gifts requires faith.”

Smith’s performance at the BET Awards follows his surprising Coachella cameo in April when he appeared during J Balvin’s set for a boisterous rendition of his track “Men In Black,” which was first released in conjunction with his smash 1997 film of the same name.

The “Independence Day” star’s new song is his first solo material in nearly five years, a fact that has his fans buzzing with excitement. It marks his first significant release since 2005’s “Lost and Found” album, making it a highly anticipated event in the music world.

Smith has recently collaborated with other musicians, such as Bad Bunny and Marc Anthony. In 2017, he released the EDM single “Get Lit” and the track “Light ‘Em Up” with Sean Paul, which are on the soundtrack for his upcoming film, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.”

Will Smith Debuts New Song In Fiery Performance At The BET Awards

Smith is a four-time Grammy winner for rap performance, both solo and as part of a duo/group. His first win came in 1988 for the song “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” which he performed with DJ Jazzy Jeff as the Fresh Prince.

The pair also won for their 1992 single “Summertime.” Smith won back-to-back Grammys for rap performance in 1998 with “Men In Black,” followed by “Gettin’ Jiggy with It” the following year.

SOURCE – CNN

Some shady personalities are making an unwelcome appearance in the Lego fandom, which is well-known to include children, teenagers, and adult collectors—and for all the wrong reasons.

Lego products, particularly the more expensive sets that cost $1,000 or more, are highly sought after by both lone shoplifters and larger organized retail crime rings. This is because the sets, which are displayed on store shelves, can be sold for a healthy profit through both legal and illegal channels.

Shoplifters Love Lego. The Colorful Plastic Toy Bricks Are A Gold Mine For Criminals

Miguel Zuniga is still coping with the June 18 break-in at his Bricks & Minifigs Lego resale franchise store in Lomita, Los Angeles County.

Around five in the morning on Tuesday, the Lego heist took place.

“The ADT security system called while I was sleeping. My wife then received a call. We were being robbed, so I went directly to the cameras,” Zuniga said to CNN.

Within ten minutes, he arrived at his store, but the robbers had left with an estimated $5,000 to $7,000 worth of Legos.

Retail crime specialists told CNN that Lego sets that have been stolen are easy to resale, usually difficult to track down, and, if they are in immaculate condition and unused, can fetch a price that’s not too far off the original retail price. Even well-maintained old sets might fetch 50% of their original cost.

Several states have had Lego thefts in recent months.

According to CNN affiliate KABC, authorities in California detained two individuals earlier this month in relation to a retail crime ring that reportedly stole thousands of Lego toys from multiple Southern California businesses.

According to a police statement cited in the story, more than 2,800 boxes of Lego toys, each with a retail value ranging from $20 to over $1,000, were found by LAPD detectives.

Police in Philadelphia have recorded several Lego set thefts in the last several months from stores like Barnes & Noble and Target; the stolen sets have been valued anywhere from $250 to $1,000 per. Target informed CNN that it was unable to provide any information regarding Lego thefts at its locations. An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Barnes & Noble.

Additionally, police in Richmond, British Columbia, just north of the border, found and confiscated more than a thousand pilfered toys in March. Lego sets and other soft toys valued at over $150,000 were among the pilfered items.

Among the most often taken goods
Lego sets are frequently in the top 10 most stolen retail products, along with branded jeans, purses, designer shoes, Olay skincare products, and Apple devices, according to experts, despite the difficulty in obtaining reliable statistics.

“Lego is different. Read Hayes, director of the Loss Prevention Research Council, which has Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Gap as members, and a criminologist at the University of Florida, said, “The brand is always refreshing their offerings, always on trend with tie-ins to pop culture and special edition sets.”

Hayes told CNN that his company collaborates with most stores who sell Lego merchandise in addition to Legoland theme parks. “There is always a demand.”

Shoplifters Love Lego. The Colorful Plastic Toy Bricks Are A Gold Mine For Criminals

Because of this, there is a growing market for counterfeit goods, particularly on the internet, in addition to the market for stolen Lego products.

Lego violations are nothing new to Wichita, Kansas, police captain Casey Slaughter, who oversees the department’s property crimes section.

Slaughter told CNN, “We see Lego toys as one of the more frequently stolen items in our area.” “Lego theft can happen to any retailer selling the brand, but there are also a few secondhand stores that specialize in Lego that have emerged as resellers.” They are under attack.

Lego thieves find it easy money, he claimed. He claimed that it was hard to find out where they were taken from.

Wichita Police looked into 19 Lego thefts between January 8, 2024, and May 7, 2024, according to information the police agency sent CNN. The information showed that among the stolen items were sets from the Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars movies.

When contacted for comment, Lego referred CNN to online tools on its website to teach customers how to recognize phony Lego products and online businesses.

Since April, a number of Bricks & Minifigs locations in California have experienced thefts.

“This is most likely our fourth or fifth Lego-themed hit. Regarding the heist of Zuniga’s store, Captain Calvin Mah of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s major crimes section stated in an interview with CNN that “they happen quickly, 30 seconds to a minute.”

“I could see that they were aiming for particular Lego pieces when I watched the security footage. They had a clear idea of what they wanted. They were looking for the uncommon or collectible sets, the high-end and high-value ones, he claimed.

Shoplifters Love Lego. The Colorful Plastic Toy Bricks Are A Gold Mine For Criminals

When Zuniga told CNN about the robbery, she became tearful.

On the day of the break-in, Zuniga cleaned his store and then went home to take a shower.

He remarked, “I sent a bat signal to the community when I came back to come and support us in our time of need.” Consumers arrived; some even gave away their Lego sets. To stock empty shelves, he purchased Lego kits that were marked down at the neighborhood Target.

“The first customer that came in at nine in the morning was a 71-year-old who had built some of the most expensive Lego sets,” Zuniga recalled, sobbing uncontrollably. He’s a legend in our community. He arrived crying.

SOURCE – (CNN)