KPop Demon Hunters 2 to have ‘very broad’ cinema release before Netflix
KPop Demon Hunters girl group HUNTR/X (Netflix)
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said KPop Demon Hunters 2 is targeting “a very broad theatrical release”, as the streamer leans further into cinema-first runs for select titles.
Speaking at Bloomberg’s Screentime event on Wednesday night, Sarandos said (via Variety): “We think they’ll do great, and when the KPop Demon Hunters sequel comes, you can expect a very broad theatrical release.” He also described the plan as a “big, broad, global” rollout.
The sequel is expected in 2029. Sarandos’ comments came as he outlined how Netflix is approaching theatrical distribution differently depending on the type of film, with some projects positioned as big, communal “event” releases.
Why Netflix is betting on a big cinema rollout
Netflix’s confidence in the franchise is rooted in the scale of the first film’s performance on the platform. KPop Demon Hunters amassed 325.1million views in its first 90 days on Netflix and spent 63 consecutive weeks in the Global Top 10.
Sarandos also pointed to the film’s box office potential. Two months after debuting on Netflix, a singalong version grossed an estimated $19million across two days, with all US cinema chains playing it apart from AMC, which had previously boycotted Netflix over its reluctance to provide a 45-day theatrical window.
In Sarandos’ view, a cinema-first release can also change who shows up later on streaming. He said: “No disparaging movies in the box office, but movies that come out in the theatre do pretty well, what happens is the most passionate audience went to see it in the theatre, so by the time it comes to Netflix, you’ve lost that passionate audience, and you got the people that go, ‘Oh, I meant to see that,’ or ‘I’ll get around to that.’”
What Netflix’s cinema-first windows look like
Sarandos said Netflix will give some upcoming films a set theatrical window before they land on the service, and that Netflix will report box office for the first time for these cinema-first releases.
He said La Bola Negra, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew and Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory will have theatrical windows of 46, 50 and 47 days respectively, while The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth and Mosquito Bowl will have 27 and 26 days.
Sarandos also said Netflix put over 30 movies in cinemas last year for various periods of time, such as Frankenstein, starring Jacob Elordi, which was in cinemas for six months.
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