How much do you want to bet they want this one back badly? Sony Pictures Animation produced “KPop Demon Hunters,” doing so for a reported $100 million budget, and then sold it to Netflix for streaming. The studio walked away with a profit on the film — roughly $20 million if you believe reports — but as of today, “KPop Demon Hunters” is now Netflix’s biggest film of all time. Toss in the surprise box office success that placed it a quiet No. 1 this weekend, and you have to wonder how much money the studio left on the table.
Netflix announced Tuesday that “KPop Demon Hunters” is officially its biggest English-language film ever, with 236 million views. It’s been in the global Top 10 for 10 straight weeks, and it took down the previous entry that has held that spot for years, “Red Notice” starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds, which topped out at 230 million views. “Demon Hunters” still has a long ways to go too, so it tells you just how big this movie has gotten.
Turns out that’s not all, and Netflix is trying to grab even more viewers by having released the Sing-A-Long version of the film, the one that played in theaters and made $18.8 million in two days, on Netflix for home viewing. Presumably any viewing for that version of the film would count as a separate title and not for the main film.
For Netflix, “KPop Demon Hunters” is shaping up to be its next franchise, already being pushed at the coming Netflix House venues opening later this year, and surely one that Netflix will want a sequel to. So while Sony might be feeling some serious FOMO after seeing this film blew up, presumably they would want a bigger piece of the pie when Netflix comes calling to make a follow-up.
More to come…
