David Bridges
Highlights
- Production Cost: KPop Demon Hunters cost over $100 million to produce, with Sony set to receive only about $20 million.
- Negotiations: Sony is already in negotiations with directors Maggie Kang and Chris Applehans for potential sequels.
- Theatrical Release: The original film’s success raises questions about the benefits of a theatrical release versus streaming.
- Future Prospects: Industry insiders are uncertain if KPop Demon Hunters would have succeeded in theaters due to trends in animated films.
Since KPop Demon Hunters came out in June and took the world by storm, fans have been clamoring for more. Netflix sure would like to, given how well this one film has performed, but it seems to be a question of whether the stars will align for it and Sony to make a sequel together.
In a recent story from Puck’s Matt Belloni, he lays out some of the film’s financials, namely that it cost Sony over $100 million to produce, and only about $20 million is going to the studio, even with the film’s brief, upcoming theatrical run. (It can also release the film in China, should the government allow it.) Sources told the reporter the deal between studio and streamer allows for Sony to make more KPop movies, and it’s already entering negotiations with co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Applehans. Netflix isn’t obligated to renegotiate, so if that happened, the sequel could be shopped around elsewhere or come to the big screen.
Why didn’t Sony just put out KPop Demon Hunters in theaters itself? Per Belloni, it made two deals with Netflix in 2021: one deal, a “direct-to-platform” arrangement, made so the streamer could greenlight and release a minimum number of Sony-made movies for animation and live-action, and Sony would be paid a $20 million premium on top of each film’s individual budget.
With all this laid out, it’s a question of what’ll happen with KPop Demon Hunters 2, distribution-wise. Industry people told Belloni they doubt the first movie would’ve taken off like this if it came to theaters first, largely because original animated movies have had a rough go in theaters, and KPop itself steadily built up momentum over time. But Netflix’s dislike of theatrical releases has just resulted in Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer going over to Paramount, and Sony knows how to market and distribute movies for the big screen. Whether Netflix comes along for the ride, it probably won’t be long before we’re hearing from Huntr/x again.
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Brandon Fletcher
