A wave of purple and hot pink hair and cartoon K-pop bops is taking over multiplexes. <\/p>\n
With summer blockbusters in the rearview mirror and only a few new films out, movie theaters expected a bit of a lull at the box office this weekend.<\/p>\n
Then Netflix dropped a bombshell. The streamer would release its hit animated film \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d \u2014 already a viral phenomenon on streaming \u2014 in theaters Saturday and Sunday for sing-along screenings<\/a>.<\/p>\n The movie will be shown on more than 1,750 screens in the U.S. and Canada, with 1,150 shows sold out as of Thursday, according to industry sources. It\u2019s an unusually high-profile move by Netflix into cinemas, which is using the big screen experience to capitalize on and promote one of its biggest wins. <\/p>\n Packed houses include the theaters of Dallas-based Look Dine-In Cinemas, which has locations in Glendale, Redlands, Downey and Monrovia.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will be the dominant force for the weekend,\u201d said Look Chief Executive Brian Schultz. \u201cWe could put it on every screen in our auditorium.\u201d <\/p>\n But is this theatrical release really gonna be golden, to paraphrase one of the musical\u2019s most infectious earworms? We won\u2019t know for sure. Or at least how golden.<\/p>\n Los Gatos-based Netflix will not release box office figures, sticking with the company\u2019s long-standing policy that has long frustrated industry pros. All the same, based on presale numbers, the movie could haul in $16 million to $22 million, according to estimates from analysis site Box Office Theory. That total, if Netflix reported it, would unseat the expected official No. 1 domestic movie, \u201cWeapons.\u201d <\/p>\n The release is a welcome surprise for theater owners \u2014 particularly in the doldrums of summer, when even late breakout hits like Warner Bros.\u2019 horror film \u201cWeapons\u201d have been out for weeks. But it also underscores the tricky relationship between exhibitors and Netflix, which has famously eschewed traditional theatrical film releases.<\/p>\n The streamer has briefly put films in theaters for Oscar consideration, as it did with \u201cRoma\u201d and \u201cThe Irishman,\u201d and did give director Rian Johnson\u2019s 2022 comedy \u201cGlass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery\u201d a short window in cinemas<\/a>. (It will also have a three-week exclusive theatrical run for Guillermo del Toro\u2019s \u201cFrankenstein\u201d<\/a> in October.)<\/p>\n But the streamer has long been adamant that its focus is on growing its subscriber base \u2014 not on developing a theatrical business. Earlier this year, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the theatrical movie experience was \u201coutdated\u201d for most people. When the company does theatrical releases, it views them as marketing efforts. <\/p>\n That has led to long-standing complaints from theater owners, who argue that streaming has lessened their business and trained audiences to wait until films are available at home.<\/p>\n \u201cNetflix and a sizable share of theatrical exhibition have spent so many years toeing the line as frenemies, if not outright adversaries,\u201d Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at ticket seller Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory, said in an email. \u201cThis is a weekend that again highlights how they could, and perhaps should, start working together more often to the benefit of both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n The film, produced by Culver City-based Sony Pictures Animation, is the most-watched original animated movie in Netflix\u2019s history, according to the streamer. <\/p>\n