'KPop Demon Hunters' might win the box office

A wave of purple and hot pink hair and cartoon K-pop bops is taking over multiplexes.

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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. Then Netflix dropped a bombshell. The streamer would release its hit animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” — already a viral phenomenon on streaming — in theaters Saturday and Sunday for singalong screenings. The movie will be shown on more than 1,750 screens in the US and Canada, with 1,150 shows sold out as of Thursday, according to industry sources. It's an unusually high-profile move by Netflix into cinemas, which is using the big screen experience to capitalise on and promote one of its biggest wins.

Packed houses include the theaters of Dallas-based Look Dine-In Cinemas, which has locations in Glendale, Redlands, Downey and Monrovia. “This will be the dominant force for the weekend,” said Look Chief Executive Brian Schultz. “We could put it on every screen in our auditorium.” But is this theatrical release really gonna be golden, to paraphrase one of the musical's most infectious earworms? We won't know for sure. Or at least how golden.