411 Box Office Report: KPop Demon Hunters Scores Big Win, Weapons Holds Well

Netflix scored a rare box office win this weekend as KPop Demon Hunters topped a resilient Weapons for the crown. The singalong version of streamer’s animated sensation showed the competition how it’s done (done, done!) with $18 million, marking the best opening ever for Netflix. Their previous high was an estimated $9.2 million for the short run of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery back in November of 2022.

KPop Demon Hunters’ win is impressive on a number of levels. Most notably, it reps a strong weekend for a film that was released in just 1,700 theaters, the second-lowest theater count in the top 10 this weekend. For another, the animated action musical has already been available at home for Netflix subscribers for nine weeks and has amassed 210.5 million views, making it Netflix’s second-most watched film ever (and likely to pass Red Notice for #1 in short order). It’s also based on just two days of release, as the film was only available on Saturday and Sunday.

It also comes with a big caveat: this is an estimated number. Netflix does not release their results publicly, so this is an estimated amount. Regardless, it’s a huge number given all the circumstances that proves the power of the Netflix/Sony Pictures Animation film’s appeal. The film’s critical praise (97% on RT) and audience response (91% RT audience rating) don’t make this too much of a surprise, though it’s still head-spinning when you think about the fact that this is a film that was released on Netflix with little initial fanfare.

There will be plenty of people out there who will argue that Netflix or Sony should have committed to theaters right away, but there’s very little likelihood the film would have become the sensation it has if it had been given a strictly theatrical release. Netflix provided a venue where the film could build a groundswell of support for a concept that would have been a hard sell in a traditional marketing campaign. It’s more a statement about how some films that would not necessarily be a fit for the standard theatrical model can find other avenues for success and lead to a potential breakout from there.

As of now, Netflix’s singalong release is only a two-day event and there is no immediate indication that the run might be extended. Either way, the film has expanded its impact ever higher and we’ll be sure to see plenty more from Huntrix down the line. Whether the follow-ups get a theatrical release or not is anyone’s guess right now.

Weapons held up well in its third weekend, as Zach Cregger’s horror film was down just 36% to $15.6 million. The Warner Bros. release is continuing to soar, joining the studios’ Sinners as one of the biggest genre hits of the year. Weapons now stands at $115.9 million domestically and $199.4 million worldwide, huge numbers against its $38 million budget. It is looking likely to top at least $140 million domestically and could even get higher if it continues to hold on well, marking a huge success for the studio.

Freakier Friday also held well as it was off 36% in its third weekend to take in $9.2 million. The film is performing more like traditional comedies used to and is well on its way to success with $70.5 million domestically and $113.4 million worldwide against a budget of $42 million. It’s taking aim at around $90 million stateside and $100 million is not out of the ballpark.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps followed the trend of the holdover-heavy top 10, down 35% in its fifth weekend with $5.9 million. The film is now a relatively certain success as it has $257.3 million domestically and $478.7 million against a $200 million budget. The biggest concern that the film has is its relatively low international numbers, but Marvel expected that it wouldn’t be pulling in the overseas grosses of a Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor sequel. Domestically it is still looking at around $275 million.

The Bad Guys 2 was down 32% in its fourth frame, scoring $5.1 million. Universal is moving toward success on this film, albeit not at the original’s levels, thanks to overseas numbers. It has $66.2 million in the US and $149.1 million worldwide and should ultimately make a profit against its $80 million production budget. $80 million should be its domestic final.

Nobody 2 was the outlier for the top 10 as it suffered a big second weekend drop. The action sequel took in $3.7 million, down 60% from last weekend’s already-soft opening weekend. The film is just getting bulldozed by higher-profile films in their later weekends, which is not a great sign. It has $16.5 million domestically and $28.1 million worldwide and may have trouble making a profit against its $25 million budget, with a $22 million stateside final tally likely.

Superman added $3.4 million to its coffers in its seventh weekend for a 35% drop. It now has $347 million domestically and $604.5 million worldwide, marking a successful DC relaunch, and will end its run around $360 million. The budget was $225 million.

The Naked Gun was off 40% in its fourth weekend with $3 million. The spoof comedy is at $47.6 million stateside and $86.4 million worldwide, enough to be profitable by the end of its run against a $42 million budget. It will cross $50 million domestically.

Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t opened low with $3 million. That is about where most expected it to go coming into the weekend. It’s more than his divisive Drive-Away Dolls, which started with $2.4 million in February of 2024.

This sounds bad for the film, and in truth it’s not great. But Focus Features was not expecting this to be a breakout success. For one, Honey Don’t is a niche product, a queer-centric crime comedy. For another, the film had little buzz behind it. There was only a token effort or marketing for the film and the critical buzz isn’t there at a 44% RT critic’s aggregate. Audience reception is also bad with an RT audience rating of 45%.

The studio isn’t losing much on it; the $20 million is a bit high but the lower marketing costs will make a difference. It’s not likely to get much past $7 million or so (Drive-Away Dolls barely doubled its opening weekend in final gross), leaving the studio to hope it finds its audience post-theatrical.

Jurassic World Rebirth closed out the top 10 with $2.1 million, down 29% in weekend end. The blockbuster has grossed $335.6 million domestically and $844.1 million worldwide against a $180 million budget and will end around $340 million in the US.

Weapons is likely to regain the top spot next weekend without KPop Demon Hunters in the way as we again get a relatively mild stack of newcomers in Caught Stealing, The Roses and the Toxic Avenger remake, all targeting single digits. The 50th anniversary release of Jaws is also looking to score in that range.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. KPop Demon Hunters – $18 million ($18 million total, $18 million WW)
2. Weapons – $15.6 million ($115.9 million total, $199.4 million WW)
3. Freakier Friday – $9.2 million ($70.5 million total, $113.3 million WW)
4. The Fantastic Four: First Steps – $5.9 million ($257.3 million total, $490.1 million WW)
5. The Bad Guys 2 – $5.1 million ($66.2 million total, $149.1 million WW)
6. Nobody 2 – $3.7 million ($16.5 million total, $28.1 million WW)
7. Superman – $3.4 million ($347 million total, $604.5 million WW)
8. The Naked Gun – $3 million ($47.6 million total, $86.4 million WW)
9. Honey Don’t – $3 million ($3 million total, $3 million WW)
10. Jurassic World Rebirth – $2.1 million ($335.6 million total, $844.1 million WW)