Netflix has once again disrupted industry standards, this time by dominating the weekend box office with its animated hit, KPop Demon Hunters. The film raked in an estimated $18 million to $20 million through a limited sing-along theatrical run, a rare and formidable achievement for a streaming-first movie. It handily beat out traditional studio releases like Weapons, signaling a potential shift in how movies can find success.
The film was already a certified phenomenon on the small screen, ranking as the second-most-popular movie ever on Netflix. Its success was bolstered by a massively popular soundtrack that produced several hit songs. This established popularity created a ready-made audience for a theatrical event, and Netflix seized the opportunity to engage with fans in a new and profitable way.
The special event played in 1,700 theaters, a significant footprint for a Netflix release and more than double the screen count for its previous theatrical experiment, Glass Onion. The high demand, which led to numerous sold-out shows, demonstrates that audiences are willing to pay for a communal viewing experience, even for content they can watch at home. The decision by chains like Regal to screen the film, despite opposition from AMC, paid off handsomely.
At its core, KPop Demon Hunters is an animated musical about a K-pop girl group that doubles as a team of demon-fighting heroes. The film’s creative premise and catchy music clearly resonated with viewers, first on Netflix and now in theaters, providing a much-needed lift to the summer’s overall box office revenue.