Netflix’s animated singalong 'KPop Demon Hunters' is on track to rake in $18 million to $20 million at the U.S. box office this weekend, landing the top spot even though it played only on Saturday and Sunday.
While streaming titles have topped box office charts before—Apple’s F1, released in U.S. theaters by Warner Bros., debuted to an impressive $57 million earlier this summer—this marks the first time a Netflix film has claimed the number-one position in theaters.
However, the milestone comes with a caveat: Netflix does not release its own box office figures. These estimates come from preliminary weekend projections provided by industry sources rather than official numbers from the streamer.
Admittedly, it was a quiet weekend at the box office, with no major new releases. Aside from 'KPop Demon Hunters', the top performer was Weapons, which pulled in an estimated $15.4 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to $115 million.
Still, this marks a milestone for a company that has largely avoided traditional theatrical releases—a strategy that may have frustrated some of its most successful filmmakers. The closest Netflix has come was the one-week theatrical run of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel Glass Onion, which earned around $15 million. Looking ahead, Greta Gerwig’s Narnia adaptation, set to launch exclusively on IMAX screens next fall, is expected to post even bigger box office numbers.
The achievement is especially notable considering 'KPop Demon Hunters' has been streaming since late June. The film has already climbed to the number two spot on Netflix’s all-time most-watched list, with over 210 million views, sitting between Red Notice and Carry-On.
'KPop Demon Hunters', produced by Sony Pictures Animation, features a mostly Korean and Korean-American voice cast. The film centers on a K-pop girl group that doubles as demon hunters, taking on a rival boy band. Its song “Golden” topped the Billboard charts and has racked up over 400 million streams on Spotify.
