{"id":466460,"date":"2026-02-13T15:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/466460\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T15:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:09:08","slug":"sony-says-kpop-demon-hunters-was-a-hit-specifically-because-it-was-on-netflix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/466460\/","title":{"rendered":"Sony Says ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Was a Hit Specifically Because It Was on Netflix"},"content":{"rendered":"

The success of KPop Demon Hunters was unprecedented. It went from a small animated film<\/a> that appeared on Netflix to the streamer\u2019s most popular movie ever<\/a>, with sequels and spinoffs<\/a> in the works and almost certainly an Oscar on the way. Plus, it was even a hit in theaters<\/a>, making tens of millions of dollars in only a few short days. All of which made Hollywood wonder, did Sony, which licensed the film to Netflix, make a mistake by not just releasing it itself?<\/p>\n

In a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, Sony Pictures Animation presidents Kristine Belson and Damien de Froberville said they have looked at the numbers and concluded, \u201cOne million percent,\u201d that KPop Demon Hunters was only that big of a hit because it was on Netflix.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne million percent, it had to be on Netflix,\u201d Belson said when asked if Sony had gamed out the film\u2019s theatrical prospects versus streaming. \u201cIt was the perfect storm of that movie coming together with the power of that platform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Belson explained that when you have a film on Netflix, the company checks in with you about how it\u2019s doing. The first check-in is after three days, then 10 days, then 28 days. \u201cThe three-day call was like, \u2018Yeah, it\u2019s OK,’\u201d de Froberville said. \u201cThe 10-day call: \u2018Yeah, it\u2019s OK. It\u2019s starting to look interesting, especially on the rewatch.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then normally you wouldn\u2019t have heard from them again between the 10-day and the 28-day,\u201d Belson continued. \u201cBut then we got a call from [Netflix\u2019s Head of Feature Animation and Family Film] Hannah Minghella on day 14 or something. \u2018Something is going on here.\u2019 So, it needed time, which you do not get theatrically.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of success everyone involved wants to continue. And despite reports that a sequel will be out<\/a> in 2029, Belson reportedly \u201cplaced her pointer finger to her nose\u201d when questioned about that release date being a little ambitious, considering how slowly animation happens. So, don\u2019t hold your breath just yet.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fascinating interview that talks about the new movie GOAT as well as Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Read it here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel<\/a>, Star Wars<\/a>, and Star Trek<\/a> releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV<\/a>, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The success of KPop Demon Hunters was unprecedented. It went from a small animated film that appeared on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466461,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[88,2696,206,217,3017],"class_list":{"0":"post-466460","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-kpop-demon-hunters","10":"tag-movies","11":"tag-netflix","12":"tag-sony-pictures-animation"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}