'KPop Demon Hunters' tops domestic box office weekend in rare win for Netflix

By Harshita Mary Varghese and Dawn Chmielewski

Aug 25 (Reuters) - The sing-along version of the animated film "KPop Demon Hunters", which has become a cultural phenomenon, topped the domestic box office this weekend, in what appears to be a historic first for streaming giant Netflix NFLX.O.

The movie, about a Korean girl group that battles demons, brought in an estimated $18 million from U.S. and Canada box offices, according to IMDb's Box Office Mojo.

It surpassed Warner Bros Discovery's WBD.O horror movie "Weapons", which brought in $15.6 million in domestic ticket sales in its third weekend in cinemas.

The film has become a juggernaut for Netflix, dominating the streaming charts this summer as well as producing a chart-topping hit song, "Golden".

Its popularity gave Netflix an opening to reach a bigger audience with a one-weekend-only event that landed in theaters at a time when there were no other major releases.

The streaming service has long rejected broad, big-screen releases for its films, except for limited theatrical runs that make them eligible for Oscar consideration. Theater-owners also have balked at screening films that viewers can watch at their homes.

Netflix does not report ticket sales, though it said the limited theatrical run featured more than 1,000 sold-out screenings in theaters across the U.S, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

"KPop Demon Hunters" was produced by Sony Pictures Animation and directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans.

In addition to "Golden", three other songs from the movie, "How It's Done", "What It Sounds Like" and "Free", also rank among the top 10 most streamed songs for the week ending on August 14, according to Luminate.