In what’s sure to put a bow on an already banner year for anime, both streaming and in theaters, Gkids officially announced it’s giving Jujutsu Kaisen‘s forthcoming Culling Game Arc a sneak peek episodic release in theaters ahead of its third season this December.
In the same vein as Gkids’ other anime theatrical events for shows like Dan Da Dan and Witch Watch, Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution will combine “the best of the Shibuya Incident arc”—the big climactic battle from its second season—as well as the first two episodes of its third season ahead of its January 2026 release.
Picking up off the heels of Mappa’s second season finale, Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution sees hero Yuji Itadori and friends immediately put in a city-wide death game with other high-caliber sorcerers. Things are made all the more harrowing for Itadori with the presence of Jujutsu Kaisen 0‘s protagonist, Yuta Okkotsu, being tasked with Itadori’s execution for his perceived involvement in the massive human casualties in the Shibuya Arc that led to fan-favorite Satoru Gojo being sealed by villain and culling game orchestrator Noritoshi Kamo. In essence, the two-episode preview tacked on to the end of JJK: Execution will see its prequel and series protagonists battle for the first time, and fans are in for a wild anime sorcery battle.
Ostensibly, Jujutsu Kaisen‘s theatrical preview of its forthcoming arc is similar to what Demon Slayer did last year, with the theatrical release of its Hashira training arc being tacked on to the tail end of its Swordsmith Village arc. And seeing as how Demon Slayer made bank back then, as well as making historic levels of bank right now in the box office with part one of three of its Endgame-esque film series finale, Infinity Castle, it comes as no surprise that the Mappa-produced anime would play follow the leader on this front. All of this becomes even more of an embarrassment of riches for anime fans this year, considering Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution will have a month buffer from the release of Mappa’s other big theatrical release, Chainsaw Man, in Chainsaw Man The Movie – Reze Arc, which premiered in theaters in Japan today.
Can the earthling sorcerers coexist with their alien visitors? Read Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo, Ch. 2 in Shonen Jump for free! https://t.co/zv70eHfPQJ pic.twitter.com/PsJSW5ZgE4 — Shonen Jump (@shonenjump) September 14, 2025
Today’s news comes as Jujutsu Kaisen fans are in a bit of a revived renaissance with manga creator Gege Akutami releasing new chapters of his short sequel prologue series, Jujutsu Kaisen: Modulo, on Shonen Jump in collaboration with Cipher Academy artist Yuji Iwasaki. Considering theatrical releases of this ilk also come with FOMO for fans not wanting to get spoiled online from folks who secured movie tickets (and a bit of a grueling waiting period for moviegoers having to sit out on the first couple weeks of the anime’s weekly release to get to new content), it’ll be interesting to see whether Jujutsu Kaisen fans, famous for spreading leaks and spoilers like it’s their full-time job, will behave for once.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution comes to North American theaters on December 5.