Netflix’s “Kpop Demon Hunters” is probably the biggest movie in theatre

The Singaporean version of Netflix’s animated film, KPOP Demon Hunters, became the number one film at the domestic box office, with a track to earn between $18 million and $20 million in theaters this weekend. And it’s just in the theater for two-thirds of the weekend (i.e. Saturday and Sunday).

This is not the first time a streaming title has surpassed the box office collection charts. In fact, Apple’s “F1” (distributed by Warner Bros. in theaters in the US) opened at an even more impressive $57 million earlier this summer. However, this is the first time Netflix has made its biggest movie in theaters.

Winning comes with several asterisks. Most notably, Netflix has not announced that it will return at the box office. So these are not formula numbers from streamers, but spare weekend estimates from other industry sources.

This was certainly a quiet weekend without new releases. In addition to “KPOP Demon Hunters,” the Top Gross film is “weapons,” winning an estimated $15.4 million domestically for $115 million in theatres.

Still, this feels like a milestone for the company that shunned traditional theatrical releases (stances that may have driven away some of the most successful filmmakers). The closest is the weekly release of Rian Johnson’s “Knife Out” sequel, Glass Onion, which won an estimated $15 million in theaters. And then there’s Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia.” This will likely bring in even greater box office revenue if it only releases on the IMAX screen next fall.

This is also an impressive victory for the films that have been available for streaming since late June, and has already risen to No. 2 on Netflix’s most watched films of all time with over 210 million views. (For some reason, it is sandwiched between a “red notification” and a “carrying on board.”)

Produced by Sony Pictures Animation and cast primarily with Korean/Korean American voices, “Kpop Demon Hunters” tells the story of K-Pop Girl Group. The song “Golden” from the film’s soundtrack tops the Billboard charts and has been streamed over 400 million times on Spotify.

AMC Theaters refused to show this Singaporean version of “Kpop Demon Hunters,” in line with its long-term refusal to screen films without an exclusive theatrical window, but it was the only major chain.