KPop Demon Hunters‘ second theatrical run has fallen far short of expectations as part of Hollywood’s lowest grossing October in nearly three decades.
Per Deadline, Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, which is currently back in 2,890 theaters as part of its second box office run, closed out Oct. 31 with a gross of only $600,000. Current estimates put the second weekend for its second box office run at around $3.4 million — far below studio expectations. An unnamed distribution source told Deadline, “I don’t think there’s more juice left in that squeeze.”
KPop Demon Hunters Part of Lowest-Grossing Box Office Month in 27 Years
Rumi, Mira and Zoey talk about “Golden” on a talkshow in KPop Demon Hunters.Image via Netflix
This past Halloween wrapped up what has been the lowest-grossing October for Hollywood in 27 years. Apart from the fact that Halloween itself fell on a Friday this year, October 2025’s box office returns have been hampered by the Major League Baseball World Series, with the latest game between the LA Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays falling on Halloween night. In total, box office returns for October came in around $440 million — the lowest on record since 1998, which saw box office returns come in at the $455.5 million mark. The highest October on record was 2018, during which Venom, Halloween and A Star Is Born all arrived in theaters, adding to a cumulative $832.8 million box office haul.
Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans from a screenplay co-written alongside Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan, KPop Demon Hunters arrived on Netflix in June and immediately established itself as the latest pop culture phenomenon. The film follows Rumi, Mira and Zoey, the three members of the KPop group Huntr/x, who spend as much time fighting the forces of evil as they do performing for their adoring fans. When a demonic new boy band known as the Saja Boys emerge, they pose a threat not just to Huntr/x’s popularity but also to the entire world. Upon its release, the anime-inspired KPop Demon Hunters was an instant success, quickly becoming the most-watched film on Netflix of all time.
What the Future Looks Like for Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters
A collage featuring KPop Demon Hunters Huntrix charactersImage by Yéred García
While there are a variety of potential spinoff and sequel projects that Netflix insiders have said they are open to exploring, KPop Demon Hunter co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans have both spoken up about their lack of any desire to see the series transition to live-action. “It’s not just about recreating real life, it’s about a kind of distillation of it,” Appelhans said during an interview in late September. “You’re trying to push everything — if it’s a shape, you push the shape, if it’s an idea, you push the idea, if it’s a joke…that does create a certain framework that works really well with this tone. So yeah, I don’t know. It would be hard.”
Kang added, “I think it would be more difficult, and this was hard. This was very hard. So I can’t even think about something harder than this.”
KPop Demon Hunters is in theaters and available for streaming on Netflix now.