Topline
“Kpop Demon Hunters” won big at the box office on its opening weekend, debuting with an estimated $18 million after previously becoming the second-most streamed film on Netflix since its release in June, and surpassing Zach Cregger’s horror hit “Weapons” during its third weekend in theaters.
Fans of the animated musical flocked to theaters to watch a sing-along version of the film that quickly became Netflix’s second-most streamed film.
Getty Images for Netflix
Key Facts
“Kpop Demon Hunters,” an animated musical directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, was released by the streaming service in June, but Netflix decided to bring it to theaters for a “sing-along” limited run for a single weekend on what would have been a relatively slow late summer box office weekend.
Netflix has not reported grosses from its big hit, but insiders at other studios told both Deadline and Variety the animated film likely made somewhere between $18 million-$20 million.
“Weapons” held strong in second place, grossing an estimated $15.6 million on the third weekend of its theatrical release—down from its $24 million second weekend.
Key Background
Despite becoming a studio powerhouse in recent years, Netflix has shied away from releasing its films for theatrical runs. The streaming company, which built its early business by sending customers rental DVDs by mail, typically only releases movies for very limited theatrical runs in order to qualify for awards. For example, “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” only played at 696 theaters for five days over the long Thanksgiving weekend in 2022, grossing just $13.2 million. The company has shown few signs of stopping this practice—in April, CEO Ted Sarandos called theatrical releases “completely out of step with the consumer experience of just loving a movie,” later calling the theater experience an “outdated concept.”
Surprising Fact
In addition to scoring a big box office hit and streaming success, “Kpop Demon Hunters” has also dominated the Billboard charts. The soundtrack skyrocketed up to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart of highest selling albums, while three songs off the album have now placed in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100: “Golden” was ranked No. 2, “Your Idol” at No. 4 and “Soda Pop” at No. 10. Another five songs off the soundtrack placed lower down the chart as of Sunday afternoon.
Big Number
210.5 million. That’s how many times viewers have watched “Kpop Demon Hunters” since its release in June, for a total of 350.9 million hours, according to Netflix. Those numbers make it the second-most watched Netflix film of all time, just behind the 2021 Ryan Reynolds-Dwayne Johnson action-comedy “Red Notice,” which has been viewed at least 230.9 million times.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2025/08/24/kpop-demon-hunters-jumps-to-no-1-at-box-office-during-limited-release-two-months-after-streaming-debut/
