If you watch KPop Demon Hunters, it’s simple to see why it has change into the most popular movie that Netflix has ever released. The animated musical’s story a couple of trio of pop stars tasked with defending humanity from monsters is familiar, however refreshingly totally different and infinitely extra fashionable than different narratives prefer it. The soundtrack is full of undeniable bangers that amplify the film’s beautiful motion and by no means allow you to neglect that it’s a celebration of Korean tradition. KPop Demon Hunters additionally unabashedly facilities ladies in a manner that you just seldom see in style options from main studios like Sony, which produced the mission.
However the truth that KPop Demon Hunters feels prefer it got here out of nowhere is one other necessary a part of its meteoric success. And as Netflix units out to show the Huntr/x women into franchise stars with a sequel, the streamer wants a considerate technique if it desires to conjure up this type of film magic once more.
Netflix wouldn’t be in such an enviable place proper now if it had not entered an agreement with Sony back in 2021 giving it the unique US streaming rights to Sony Footage Leisure’s (SPE) big-screen options following their theatrical runs and residential leisure releases. As a part of the deal Sony may nonetheless promote direct-to-streaming motion pictures to different platforms. However Sony additionally agreed to give Netflix first-look rights to any of the movies it supposed to make or license for streaming. This meant that Netflix, which might co-develop and launch these Sony tasks, may name dibs on something within the SPE pipeline earlier than its opponents had an opportunity to make affords. KPop Demon Hunters, which was first announced just a month earlier than Netflix and Sony’s deal turned official, was one of many motion pictures the streamer needed for itself.
Sony may have saved the film for itself by giving it a standard theatrical launch, which might have put the studio ready to gather no matter field workplace totals KPop Demon Hunters made the quaint manner. However as Matt Belloni at Puck factors out, 2021 was a really totally different time for the leisure business. Film theaters had been nonetheless closed as a result of covid-19 pandemic, and Sony wanted a method to generate income with out counting on ticket gross sales. The deal gave Sony a method to maintain placing motion pictures out and reduce pandemic-related layoffs. And in alternate for footing all $100 million of KPop Demon Hunters’ production costs and paying Sony an additional $25 million payment, Netflix obtained to maintain the movie’s most worthwhile rights, together with merchandising.
It’s humorous to consider Sony execs shouting up on the sky and kicking themselves as Netflix soaks up all of the adulation for producing one in all this 12 months’s finest options. However the fact is, there actually was no manner of understanding simply how a lot of successful KPop Demon Hunters would finally change into. Each studio desperately desires to place out hits and be seen as having a deep understanding of what will get individuals flocking to theaters. However figuring out hits within the making is an imprecise science that’s difficult by audiences’ fickle tastes, timing, and quite a few different components.
What’s pretty clear about KPop Demon Hunters’ rising star is that its success was not instant. It took time for the film to actually start gaining traction on Netflix. A large advertising push from Sony may need catapulted it to the highest of the field workplace if issues had gone that route. However KPop Demon Hunters appears like the proper instance of a film benefiting from this present second of popular culture consumption the place many individuals satisfaction themselves on discovering issues that they unexpectedly love, after which dashing to inform as many individuals as they will about mentioned issues.
The “shock” of all of it appears like an necessary a part of how KPop Demon Hunters turned KPop Demon Hunters as we presently comprehend it, and that form of vitality is tough to duplicate. For one, extra individuals know this property now. The songs, merch, and fan artwork are in all places you look, which speaks to the truth that the film’s viewership on Netflix has constantly grown because it began streaming in June. It’s most likely going to be a very good lengthy whereas earlier than the film’s hype calms a bit, however when (if?) it will definitely does, Netflix will want a stable plan to get the Huntr/x fan base reactivated for a sequel.
However the important thing takeaway from Frozen (2013) and Frozen 2 (2019) would possibly simply be that Netflix doesn’t have to rush the subsequent chapter of KPop Demon Hunters’ story. Even after a six-year wait, the Frozen sequel went on to change into the most profitable animated film of all time (an honor that now belongs to Ne Zha 2). And Netflix may obtain one thing comparable if it performs its playing cards proper.