Box Office Battle: ‘Weapons’ Leads Friday, Netflix’s ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ May Snag First No. 1 Debut

“The film ‘Weapons’ easily maintained its leading position at the box office this past Friday. However, a new contender is quickly gaining on it. As the bustling summer movie season begins to quiet down, Netflix’s animated hit ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ is poised to take the weekend crown with its two-day sing-along release. It would be a notable shift for Netflix, which has traditionally shunned theatrical releases, with its CEO previously dismissing cinemas as ‘outdated’ in April.

‘KPop Demon Hunters’ has been available on Netflix for more than two months and has climbed to become the second most-viewed movie in the platform’s history. Despite its availability for streaming at home, there is a clear demand from fans to experience the movie in a theatrical setting.

Originally produced by Sony Pictures Animation and later acquired by Netflix, the animated musical will be shown in over 1,700 theaters this weekend. This is a significant increase compared to Netflix’s last major theatrical release, ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,’ which was shown in about 600 theaters during the Thanksgiving period of 2022. At that time, Netflix chose not to release box office figures, and it would be surprising if they changed this practice now, even though they would miss out on potential accolades for topping the box office.

Meanwhile, ‘Weapons’ continues to perform strongly with $4.7 million on Friday, only a 37% decrease from the same day the previous week. The horror film by writer-director Zach Cregger remains a popular choice, having amassed over $105 million in North America and standing as the 13th biggest release of the year.

The new film ‘Honey Don’t!’ from Universal’s Focus Features opened in 1,417 theaters after its premiere at Cannes in May, where it received mixed reviews. The lesbian noir managed to garner $1.4 million from Friday and preview showings, aiming for a weekend total of about $3.2 million, which would not place it in the top five. This opening is still stronger than Focus’s previous project ‘Drive-Away Dolls,’ which also featured Margaret Qualley and opened to $2.4 million in 2024.

Taking third place for the weekend is likely to be Disney’s ‘Freakier Friday,’ a PG-rated comedy sequel which made another $2.8 million on Friday, a 38% drop from the previous week. The film, featuring a reunion of Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, is expected to reach around $70 million by the end of its third weekend.

Disney also claims the fourth spot with ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps,’ which earned $1.6 million on Friday, showing a 36% decrease from last week. The Marvel Studios film has now reached a total of $252 million domestically.

In fifth place, Universal’s ‘The Bad Guys 2’ is projected to earn $5.1 million in its fourth weekend, marking a 32% drop and bringing its domestic total to $66 million. This performance mirrors that of its predecessor, which also reached $66 million by the same point in its release, eventually closing at $97 million.

‘Nobody 2,’ featuring Bob Odenkirk, is expected to take the sixth spot, with a projected $3.5 million in its second weekend, a steep 62% drop from its debut. The sequel is set to reach a domestic total of $16.3 million by Sunday, surpassing its predecessor’s earnings of $11.8 million during the same timeframe in the early days of the COVID pandemic.

Also releasing this weekend are two films that may struggle to crack the top ten. Bleecker Street’s ‘Relay,’ starring Riz Ahmed and Lily James, is opening in 1,483 theaters with hopes of surpassing $2 million. Vertical Entertainment’s ‘Eden,’ directed by Ron Howard and featuring a high-profile cast including Jude Law and Ana de Armas, is debuting in 664 locations but is not expected to make a significant impact at the box office.

At the same time, A24 is attempting to capitalize on the success of the Chinese animated film ‘Ne Zha II’ by re-releasing it in 2,228 theaters with a new English dub led by Michelle Yeoh. Despite the film’s global success, earning over $2 billion mostly from its home market, the re-release managed only $690,000 on Friday, indicating limited stateside interest.