Netflix's 'KPop Demon Hunters' Tops Box Office Despite 50% Fewer Screens, Shorter Run

by Chris Katje Benzinga Staff Writer

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Already a dominant streaming company, Netflix can now claim the title of highest box office gross for the past weekend.
Netflix's first number one hit at the box office comes from its record-breaking "KPop Demon Hunters."
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Netflix Inc NFLX did something over the weekend that movie studios hope to accomplish as they fight off demand for streaming from consumers. The streaming giant had its first number one movie at the box office with "KPop Demon Hunters."

What Happened: Heading into the weekend, a sing-along version of the popular Netflix movie "KPop Demon Hunters" was expected to be one of the top-grossing films at the North American box office, thanks to a relatively weak slate of returning films and a lack of large-scale new films.

While Netflix has not released official box office results, the film is estimated to have grossed $18 million on Saturday and Sunday, good for first place, as reported by Variety.

The film outgrossed "Weapons," which had been the recent number one film. That film grossed $15.6 million in its third weekend, with screenings on 3,631 screens.

Netflix's movie won the box office with one less day on screens and less than half the screens with an estimated 1,700 screens showing the animated musical that centers on a KPop girl group protecting the world from demons with music.

There were over 1,150 sold-out showings of the Netflix movie, a strong showing of support for a film that has been available for Netflix streaming customers since June 20.

Why It's Important: Netflix has traditionally shied away from releasing its movies in movie theaters, aside from some that it believed would be major players on the awards circuit and needed theatrical releases to qualify.

The streamer partnered with multiple movie theater companies, including some of the largest in Regal and Cinemark Holdings CNK, to show the film for two days. AMC Entertainment did not show the movie in theaters over the weekend.

The weekend was expected to be slow for movie theaters, with dark comedy "Honey Don't!" the only nationwide new release. That film finished eighth for the weekend with $3 million in domestic box office.

Movie theaters are counting on a strong lineup of films in the second half of 2025 to continue to power a recovery for the sector this year. For weekends without strong releases, Netflix may receive a phone call to see what they could offer to show on the big screen.

"KPop Demon Hunters" is currently the second most-watched Netflix movie of all time and will likely become the top-watched film in company history sometime this week.

Netflix also released a sing-along version of the film, which was produced by Sony Group Corp SONY under the Sony Pictures Animation banner, on Monday, which could increase interest in the film.

More merchandise and consumer products tied to the movie are being released following the film’s continued success. Funko Inc FNKO is set to unveil collectibles from the movie on Aug. 28.

Three songs from the film are currently among the 100 songs included in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. With the sing-along version in theaters over the weekend and now available on Netflix, the songs are likely to receive even more attention going forward.

NFLX Price Action: Netflix stock is up 1.9% to $1,227.70 on Monday versus a 52-week trading range of $660.81 to $1,341.15. Netflix stock is up 38.5% year-to-date.

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