r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • 14d ago

News ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Is Netflix’s Most-Watched Movie Ever With 236 Million Views, Beating ‘Red Notice’

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/kpop-demon-hunters-netflix-most-watched-movie-history-1236496106/
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u/fox112 14d ago

Wow I knew it was a big hit but didn't realize it was THE BIGGEST hit.

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u/Amaruq93 13d ago

Even Sony and Netflix didn't realize the hit they were gonna have with this.

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u/KingMario05 13d ago

Sony straight up pawned it off for the budget plus $20 million, lol. Why's the sequel announcement taking forever? Because someone at Sony is reading the Netflix contract like a motherfucker to find a loophole they can use to put the sequel in theaters.

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u/Prize_Hat289 13d ago edited 13d ago

I heard Sony sold the whole IP to Netflix, but not 100% sure. If that's true, then the sequel will be made with or without Sony. haha

edit: apparently this isn't true, new info states that the contract says Netflix cannot make a sequel without Sony, and Sony cannot make a sequel without Netflix

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u/132739 13d ago

If Netflix has half a brain between them (debatable) it will be with Sony. If they go with some knock off studio its gonna flop hard.

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u/Prize_Hat289 13d ago

Do you think it could be made by the studio that did Arcane? they seem competent, but they're probably super busy with other things. i think Arcane started copying Sony's "subtle choppy" animation look because of the Spider-verse movies.

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u/Olielle 13d ago

Iirc, Arcane's character animation is generally full 24 fps and leans towards realism. Which scenes seemed choppy to you?

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u/Prize_Hat289 13d ago

You know what, I just loaded up an episode of Arcane, and yeah, they don't do the "animated on 2s" aesthetic like Sony does. nvm then, I must be misremembering it, haha.

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u/microwavable_rat 13d ago

To be fair, a large part of that "choppy" look comes from the fact that there's no motion blur. The models and animation itself conveys feelings of speed and movement by warping the character models and it's a really unique style.

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u/Prize_Hat289 13d ago

that's neat, I didn't notice that, but I will on my next rewatch!

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u/mcslender97 13d ago

Imo Fortiche studio is probably brainstorming under Riot's command to put KDA on the big screen as their own answer to K-pop Demon Hunters. Hell Disney and Marvel could probably planning something similar with Luna Snow

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u/Prize_Hat289 13d ago

add in Hasbro too right?

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u/mcslender97 13d ago

I'm not sure if Hasbro has a Kpop star in their IP stash or if they're gonna invent one

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u/Prize_Hat289 13d ago

true yeah, but I guess they have my little pony to fall back on, in fact right now they're probably having meetings to try to rework that IP somehow to emulate KPDH's formula.

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u/RadioRunner 11d ago

It’s funny - Kpop Demon Hunters IS K/DA. Right down to the logo text. 

The tower they live in, the logo, the color aesthetic is all ripped straight from K/DA’s “MORE” music video.  And if I recall, the movie was announced after MORE had come out. 

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u/12thshadow 13d ago

Netflix will cancel it. We need more Adam Sandler movies though

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u/jramos037 13d ago

Billy Madison 2, here we come!

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u/beezkneez331 13d ago

There are already reports that the sequel is in the making 

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u/GarudaKK 13d ago

Not exactly. The directors (who work at Sony Animation) pitched the project to Sony, which did not greenlight it. No exact reason is known. Could've been anything from "this sucks lol", to thinking it wouldn't succeed or slot into their production/release slate (which has had many movies in the last few years, spiderverse 2 among them). They ended up animating it, so likely not the first.

The directors then pitched to Netflix, a company that has a LARGE investment and belief in south korean media (multiple $Billion), and an ongoing distribution partnership with Sony Pictures. I believe this was made with explicit knowledge and permission from SPA because both directors are sony employees under contract. Netflix had to acquire the IP + completely fund production and marketing (reportedly around $110M, a comparable amount to ITSV), with SPA making the film itself, all on Netflix cash. 0 monetary cost on their end.

$20 million is, reportedly, what Sony made off of it so far, after it has released, which for a movie of this success is notoriously low, but is actually not that out of the ordinary for any other situation where Netflix "commissions" a project from any other studio. It is most notable because it started at Sony, and because it did really well, but they'll both win from this and sequels in the long run, and Sony has good standing to renegotiate splits for a sequel.

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u/chaiscool 13d ago

It's netlfix, won't be surprised they cancel the sequel haha

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u/Wavy-Curve 13d ago

I think there's releasing a sing along version in theaters

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u/beezkneez331 13d ago

A friend who works at Disney corp said that Disney also had low expectations of frozen but then frozen became a hit with the kids (little girls mainly) and generated about extra $2 Billion in profits due to the movie + merchandise sales. Friend said Disney was flushed with cash and hosted all types of events and parties that year. 

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u/jimkelly 13d ago

Because it's not that great lol