Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters played in theaters this past weekend, where it dominated the box office with a special sing-along version of the film. Netflix has had an unusual history with theaters, with its best live-action and animated movies generally being directly released to the streaming service with little to no theatrical run.
KPop Demon Hunters has garnered 210 million views, making it Netflix’s second-most-watched movie ever. With great heart and charm, the new film has gone on to become a pop culture sensation. Many have wondered, considering the film’s enormous success on streaming, how big it would have been had it received a full theatrical run.
KPop Demon Hunters’ box office saw the animated film top the charts, beating out Weapons for the number one spot and earning $18 million. This is an excellent number for the film, which has been available on streaming for two months and only played in theatres for two days.
KPop Demon Hunters Shows The Value Of Theatrical Releases
KPop Demon Hunters has been huge, but this recent theatrical release has made it even bigger than it ever was. Tons of showtimes for KPop were sold out this past weekend, showing how much desire there is for the theatrical experience. This resulted in audiences congregating in packed theaters, passionately singing along to their favorite songs.
This kind of communal event is not possible on streaming, and only further invigorated the KPop Demon Hunters brand. Events like this, as well as the Chicken Jockey viral moment from A Minecraft Movie, show the compelling ways that audiences can connect with films in public places.
This Netflix theatrical release is an unprecedented move for the streamer, which has tended to prioritize straight-to-streaming releases, generally only changing this for limited, awards-qualifying runs. In rare cases, it has broken from this model, including during the release of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, but these exceptions are happening less and less.
The state of the theatrical industry is in a curious place. Studios like Disney and Paramount have prioritized theatrical after recent attempts to fill their streaming services with all kinds of expensive original content. Only Netflix seems to have an entirely different model in mind, and it may be to its eventual downfall.
Will KPop Demon Hunters’ Box Office Win Lead To More Netflix Theatrical Releases?
Photo credit: Netflix
Netflix’s Ted Sarandos has spoken openly about his wish to change how people watch movies. Speaking with Deadline earlier this year, the Netflix CEO discussed his stance on theatrical releases: “I believe it is an outmoded idea, for most people — not for everybody.”
There is some truth to this; streaming releases are certainly more accessible. Especially as costs of living continue to increase, theatrical visits have become a much rarer and more expensive event for most people. Still, it is hard to deny that theatrical releases are far more directly lucrative for the distributors than streaming ones.
Netflix has some history with theatrical releases, with one recent exception leading to Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie getting an IMAX release. Still, even if that film is an enormous hit in cinemas, it does not appear that Netflix wishes to change its release model significantly, and they have recently shown even less flexibility with other future offerings.
Netflix’s theatrical model is beginning to cause problems. Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers have signed a new deal with Paramount due to Netflix’s unwillingness to give their projects theatrical releases. Releases in cinemas have tended to be more culturally significant, which will make it increasingly difficult for Netflix’s streaming-only model to lure in the best creative talent.
KPop Demon Hunters was produced through an unusual deal between Sony and Netflix, which saw Sony only earning $20 million in profit from the film’s incredible success. Netflix, meanwhile, does not report on most of its data, but the film is not directly generating revenue on the service.
Studies have shown that streaming movies do better if they first receive a theatrical run, with HBO’s Casey Bloys and Disney+’s Joe Earley attesting to this in The New York Times. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be changing minds at Netflix. Rather than supporting the movie experience, the streamer is trying to be a major cultural disruptor.
Netflix’s stance on theatrical releases could hurt it. The deal between Netflix and Sony suggests that a KPop Demon Hunters sequel may be able to be produced without Netflix’s involvement, although the full details are not available. If this is the case, it would certainly be in Sony’s best interest to produce the film themselves for a full theatrical run.
In addition, the new sing-along version of KPop Demon Hunters is already available on Netflix. While the streamer could have made this a theatrical exclusive and could have had additional releases for the film, it is clear that streaming viewership is far more important for them.
With all of this considered, Netflix’s future could be challenging. While the streamer is the biggest in the world, its unwillingness to change its model has been pushing its collaborators away. KPop Demon Hunters’ recent theatrical release was a big hit for them, but things could become difficult if they are unable to acquire rights to the sequel.
