Sony Says KPOP DEMON HUNTERS Only Became a Massive Hit Because It Was on Netflix

When KPop Demon Hunters first hit Netflix, it didn’t look like a record-breaking juggernaut in the making. It was a stylish animated feature with a cool hook and a niche vibe. Then it exploded.

The film became the streamer’s most popular movie ever. Now sequels and spinoffs are in the works, awards chatter is building, and it even pulled in tens of millions during a brief theatrical run.

Naturally, Hollywood started asking the obvious question. Did Sony make a mistake licensing it to Netflix instead of releasing it themselves on the big screen?

According to the leadership at Sony Pictures Animation, absolutely not.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kristine Belson and Damien de Froberville, presidents of Sony Pictures Animation, were asked if they had crunched the numbers to see how the film might have performed theatrically. Belson didn’t hesitate.

“One million percent, it had to be on Netflix. It was the perfect storm of that movie coming together with the power of that platform.”

That’s about as definitive as it gets.

Belson went on to explain how Netflix tracks performance in stages. There’s a three-day check-in, then 10 days, then 28 days. Early on, the reaction seemed solid but not earth-shattering. de Froberville said:

“The three-day call was like, ‘Yeah, it’s OK. The 10-day call: ‘Yeah, it’s OK. It’s starting to look interesting, especially on the rewatch.'”

Then something changed. Belson continued:

“And then normally you wouldn’t have heard from them again between the 10-day and the 28-day. But then we got a call from [Netflix’s Head of Feature Animation and Family Film] Hannah Minghella on day 14 or something. ‘Something is going on here.’ So, it needed time, which you do not get theatrically.”

KPop Demon Hunters wasn’t a front-loaded opening weekend smash. It built momentum. Viewers rewatched it. Word of mouth grew. The algorithm did its thing. That slow-burn success probably wouldn’t have played out the same way in theaters, where a film lives or dies in its first couple of weekends.

Now the franchise machine is gearing up. Sequels and spinoffs are in development, and there’s already talk about a follow-up landing in 2029.

When pressed about whether that date might be a little optimistic given how long animation takes, Belson reportedly “placed her pointer finger to her nose.” Translation: maybe pump the brakes on locking in that calendar just yet.

What’s clear is that Sony doesn’t see this as a missed opportunity. They see it as a perfect match of project and platform. Netflix gave KPop Demon Hunters room to breathe, and audiences responded in a huge way.

KPop Demon Hunters stands as a fascinating case study in how streaming can turn the right movie into a cultural event.