A one-weekend sing-along pushed Netflix to No. 1 for the first time
Netflix just did what it’s avoided for years: top the domestic box office. Over the Aug. 22–24, 2025 weekend, animated musical KPop Demon Hunters led North America with an estimated $18 million from roughly 1,700–1,750 theaters during a special sing-along-only run. It edged out Warner Bros.’ horror hit Weapons at $15.6 million, while Disney’s Freakier Friday took third with $9.2 million. AMC did not participate in the event-style rollout, underscoring how unusual the strategy was—and why the result stunned rivals who expected Weapons to three-peat. The film began life at Sony Pictures Animation before landing at Netflix, where its songs and characters turned into summer-long kid-culture fuel on streaming—now converting to butts in seats for the streamer’s first official No. 1 theatrical finish.
How a limited sing-along toppled a horror streak
Netflix typically prizes global streaming reach over traditional theatrical play, dabbling with select big-screen engagements to juice awards buzz or cultural conversation. This time, it created scarcity—and an “event”—by restricting KPop Demon Hunters to a sing-along, weekend-only engagement across under 2,000 screens. That counterprogrammed Weapons, a conventional wide release in 3,631 theaters, and leveraged pent-up family demand at summer’s tail end. The kicker: AMC, the country’s largest chain, sat out, meaning the victory came without America’s biggest exhibitor. The weekend result proves a targeted, time-boxed window can overcome a screen-count disadvantage when the title is already a verified streaming phenomenon. And by framing theaters as a celebratory extension of the at-home hit—rather than a rival—Netflix turned superfans into marketers for one concentrated, trackable burst.
Surprise, skepticism, and quick recalculations
Industry reaction split fast. On one side, analysts called the win a milestone validating theatrical as a marketing engine—especially for kid-driven musicals that thrive on group energy. On the other, skeptics noted the narrow window and atypical constraints (no weekday shows, no AMC) and asked whether the feat signals a blueprint or a one-off. Trade watchers who had penciled in a third straight weekend at No. 1 for Weapons recalibrated as estimates crystalized Sunday: $18M for KPop Demon Hunters vs. $15.6M for Weapons. For Netflix, the headline alone—“first box-office No. 1 in company history”—is priceless messaging heading into fall. For legacy studios, the shift raises tactical questions: if a streamer can mobilize families for a two-day sing-along and win, how should majors stage their own eventized content to resist similar ambushes? Expect Monday finals to lock the bragging rights, but the industry conversation has already moved to how it happened, not whether it did.
What the numbers actually say this weekend
Weekend charting shows KPop Demon Hunters $18.0M at #1, Weapons $15.6M at #2, and Freakier Friday $9.2M at #3 (Aug. 22–24). Weapons added 181 theaters week-over-week yet still trailed Netflix’s event by roughly $2.4M, despite playing more shows across more venues. Cumulative to date, Weapons crossed $115.9M domestic through Sunday, maintaining excellent legs for original horror even as it surrendered the top slot. The weekend’s Top 10 totaled about $69M, a softer frame versus mid-August, reflecting the pre-Labor Day lull—and making Netflix’s spike stand out even more. These are estimates; Monday actuals finalize the spread, but all primary trackers agree on the rank order and ballpark.
Why kids, families, and TikTok made this possible
On streaming, KPop Demon Hunters snowballed into a sing-along culture: kids memorized choruses, parents shared dance videos, and the soundtrack embedded itself in summer playlists. Translating that energy to theaters—glow sticks, group vocals, meet-ups—turned a trip to the movies into a participatory concert rather than passive viewing. The premise (a K-pop girl group moonlighting as demon fighters) naturally fuels cosplay and social clips, which in turn amplified FOMO for the two-day theatrical window. Meanwhile, horror die-hards still powered Weapons to sturdy holds, but families—especially those who’d streamed Demon Hunters repeatedly—showed up for a different kind of communal payoff. The outcome underlines a truth of the post-pandemic marketplace: for younger audiences, shareable moments can beat sheer footprint, and carefully timed scarcity can unlock attendance even without the biggest chain in the mix.
A new playbook for streamers and exhibitors
If Netflix can mint a No. 1 weekend on command with a laser-focused, event-style rollout, every streamer now has permission to try. Expect more themed sing-alongs, cosplay nights, and weekend-only runs for titles with sticky music or fandoms—especially when the streaming audience skews young. Exhibitors get leverage too: crafting premium, high-energy showtimes that justify a night out. For studios, the risk is cannibalization—does a special weekend blunt a future wide release?—but the upside is marketing heat that feeds streaming later. On the metrics front, Comscore/Box Office Mojo showing a streamer at #1 resets an old scoreboard and may prod chains that sat out this time (read: AMC) to participate in future limited events. And for horror, Weapons proves the genre’s momentum remains intact even when a unicorn event steals a headline. The real test comes next: can anyone repeat this on a non-musical?
Who wins, who loses, and what changes next
Winners: Netflix, which grabs a historic first, and families who got an IRL version of the sing-along they’ve been staging in living rooms all summer. Conditional winners: Exhibitors that leaned in; they demonstrated that targeted programming can outperform screen count. Holding strong: Weapons—down but not out—continues to build an impressive run for original horror, keeping Warner Bros. very healthy this August. Losers: Assumptions. A smaller, shorter, weirder release just beat a traditional wide opener in the most public metric Hollywood still obsesses over. Next steps? Watch for rapid-fire copycats this fall, and whether AMC joins the party when the next streaming phenom wants a weekend-only encore.
Sources
https://apnews.com/article/1646037b37d3018a0c827a3a674daf02
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2025W34/
https://www.wsj.com/business/media/kpop-demon-hunters-is-netflixs-first-no-1-box-office-hit-bc83bd1a
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Jessica Morrison is a seasoned entertainment writer with over a decade of experience covering television, film, and pop culture. After earning a degree in journalism from New York University, she worked as a freelance writer for various entertainment magazines before joining red94.net. Her expertise lies in analyzing television series, from groundbreaking dramas to light-hearted comedies, and she often provides in-depth reviews and industry insights. Outside of writing, Jessica is an avid film buff and enjoys discovering new indie movies at local festivals.