KPop Demon Hunters is proving to be a bigger and bigger hit for Netflix. Last week, we reported the movie's success on the streaming platform, where it's become Netflix's most-watched animated original ever and the second most-watched Netflix movie of all time. This weekend, the theatrical release of KPop Demon Hunters: A Sing-Along Event may have just made history as the streaming service's first-ever top-of-the-box office release.
Why do we say "may"? Well, as The Hollywood Reporter explains, it looks like KPop Demon Hunters, in its two-day theatrical event, bested the horror hit Weapons by reportedly making $18 million to $20 million. However, box office reporting is usually confirmed by studios, and Netflix famously doesn't report box offices. In a press release, Netflix confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters: A Sing-Along Event was in "2,180 theaters in the US, Canada, UK/Ireland, and Australia/New Zealand with over 1,300 sold-out screenings across the US and Canada."
But since the company has refused to release its box office numbers, the official box-office win goes to Weapons, which made $15.6 million (its box office since opening has been a whopping $199.4 million).
Don't cry for the KPop Demon Hunters trio HUNTR/X or their fans. Even a glance at social media this weekend showed them going up, up, up to theaters to claim their moment. Cosplays of HUNTR/X bandmates Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, as well as Saja Boys Jinu, Abby, Mystery, Romance, and Baby, were found across TikTok, Instagram, and X, as were recordings of fans reacting in the theater. And soon, fans can relive some of this fun back on their couch, couch, couch!
Netflix has followed this hugely successful theatrical release with news that the sing-along version of KPop Demon Hunters will be coming to Netflix's app on Aug 25. But hey, if you don't want to wait, a simple hack is to turn on captions. Sure, they're not fun colors and don't light up in time like the song lyrics in the theatrical event (or karaoke videos). But with "Golden" having hit #1 on the Billboard chart, something tells us there's a lot of KPop Demon Hunter fans that don't need that assist.
