Netflix’s Most Successful Movie In History Proves One Thing Certain For The Sequel

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Netflix had a major success this year with a new show, and now its leaders are figuring out how to build on that momentum.

The show, now famously known as KPop Demon Hunters, premiered on the streaming platform in June 2025 and rapidly gained a huge following. Within months, KPop Demon Hunters became Netflix’s most-watched movie ever, and its energetic soundtrack quickly rose to the top of music charts globally.

Okay, so KPop Demon Hunters is a huge deal right now – seriously, everyone loves it, and the critics are going wild! It’s sitting at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is amazing. But get this – it just landed two Oscar nominations for 2026: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song with this track called “Golden.” Most people are predicting it’ll win both! And the best part? They’re already getting started on KPop Demon Hunters 2! I can’t wait!

KPop Demon Hunters 2 Must Have A Proper Theatrical Release

The film KPop Demon Hunters premiered on Netflix after a limited theatrical release designed to qualify it for awards. This release strategy was part of a 2021 agreement between Sony and Netflix, which gives Netflix the first opportunity to stream certain Sony films by covering production costs and paying an additional fee.

It’s now obvious that KPop Demon Hunters has proven far more valuable than the $20 million Sony earned from it. However, industry experts question whether a full theatrical release would have made it the global success it is today, pointing to recent failures like Elio as evidence that original animated films struggle to perform well in theaters currently.

Now that KPop Demon Hunters has a dedicated following and is moving into a sequel, KPop Demon Hunters 2 has the potential to be a huge success in theaters worldwide. Netflix and Sony should definitely consider a traditional theatrical release to make it a major cinematic event.

KPop Demon Hunters’ Box Office Success Explained

Following its success on streaming platforms – where it stayed in Netflix’s Top 10 for several weeks – KPop Demon Hunters had a limited theatrical release in August and October 2025. Despite only being shown for two weekends, the film drew surprisingly large crowds.

The movie KPop Demon Hunters has earned $24.6 million globally in its first two weeks in theaters, though most of that—$319,953—came from outside the U.S. This makes it Netflix’s biggest box office success for a film released in theaters for a limited time. For comparison, another Netflix movie, Wake Up Dead Man (2025), only made $1.6 million worldwide before becoming available for streaming.

KPop Demon Hunters 2 Has Time To Work Out A New Release Agreement

In August, Matthew Belloni of Puck reported that Netflix wasn’t required to revisit the terms of its deal with Sony regarding potential sequels to KPop Demon Hunters. However, recent reports indicate that the two companies are now negotiating a new agreement, as development on KPop Demon Hunters 2 is underway.

I’ve been hearing whispers that KPop Demon Hunters 2 might not arrive until 2029! While that feels like a long way off, it actually gives Netflix and Sony some breathing room. As long as Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans are still actively working on the movie itself, they have time to figure out a release strategy and potentially get it out before it’s completely finished – which is good news for fans like me!

Now that Netflix is potentially buying Warner Bros., people are wondering how this will affect movie theaters. Some believe a big screen release for a film like KPop Demon Hunters could be a truly amazing experience, and it’s a concern whether Netflix will prioritize that.

this will hopefully be one of the exceptions.

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2026-01-26 00:08