Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has confirmed that the sequel to last year’s cultural sensation “K-Pop: Demon Hunters” will be getting a “big, broad, global” theatrical release when it arrives in 2029.
The 2025 animated musical urban fantasy film became the most-watched original title in Netflix history with over 325 million views in three months, while a briefly released singalong version snagged $24 million in cinemas.
The film won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (“Golden”) at the Oscars and Golden Globes, it had the first film soundtrack to have four songs in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously, and reviews overall were excellent.
It also became a pop culture juggernaut that was inescapable for much of last year. So when a sequel was announced, it came as little shock.
The only real question was whether Netflix would adopt the same streaming-first strategy, or try a theatrical release first. As Netflix has started giving multiple upcoming films exclusive theatrical windows, that question has only become more pertinent.
Sarandos confirmed plans for a cinema-first run for the sequel while speaking at Bloomberg’s Screentime tonight to discuss Netflix’s evolving theatrical release strategy.
He says the company definitely sees a theatrical first upside for big four-quad releases but less so for art house titles. That’s why next year’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” and “Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory” are getting the biggest theatrical windows of 50 and 47 days respectively.
He adds that Netflix put over 30 movies in cinemas last year for various periods of time, keeping some on the big screen after their streaming release. That included Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” which was in cinemas for six months in total.
Source: Deadline
