{"id":2003585,"date":"2025-09-07T07:25:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T07:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2003585"},"modified":"2025-09-07T07:25:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T07:25:06","slug":"sony-head-honcho-reflects-on-decision-to-sell-kpop-demon-hunters-to-netflix-instead-of-releasing-it-theatrically","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/sony-head-honcho-reflects-on-decision-to-sell-kpop-demon-hunters-to-netflix-instead-of-releasing-it-theatrically\/","title":{"rendered":"Sony Head Honcho Reflects On Decision To Sell KPop Demon Hunters To Netflix Instead Of Releasing It Theatrically"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><i>When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.<\/i><\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Credit: Netflix<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Netflix\u2019s <em>KPop Demon Hunters<\/em> became the streaming service\u2019s most successful original <em>of all time<\/em> this summer, thanks to its soundtrack of bangers, having a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/theres-lot-love-kpop-demon-150400396.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:glowing feel-good message;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\"><u>glowing feel-good message<\/u><\/a> that has really stuck with audiences, and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/movies\/articles\/kpop-demon-hunters-star-opened-231333311.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:its Korean representation;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">its Korean representation<\/a>. Its popularity led Netflix to bring a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/kpop-demon-hunters-heading-theaters-201501157.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:sing-along version to theaters for one weekend,;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\"><u>sing-along version to theaters for one weekend,<\/u><\/a> which also <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/movies\/articles\/weird-world-ours-netflix-movie-191953518.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:dominated the box office;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\"><u>dominated the box office<\/u><\/a> for its short stay. The movie\u2019s trajectory leads one to wonder if Sony Animation should have given it a chance in theaters rather than sell it to Netflix, and yes, the studio\u2019s CEO has thought about that too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Sony Pictures CEO Ravi Ahuja was asked whether <em>KPop Demon Hunters<\/em> could have been viable to go straight to theaters rather than first becoming available to watch with a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/tech.yahoo.com\/streaming\/articles\/netflix-subscription-plans-price-included-174717448.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Netflix subscription;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\"><u>Netflix subscription<\/u><\/a> during a Thursday conference. Here\u2019s what he had to say:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mb-4 border-l-2 pl-5 italic text-tertiary\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">This is the question we ask ourselves, everyone is asking us too. You know, I don\u2019t know. Obviously in hindsight it is such a big hit you think maybe it could\u2019ve. It was during the pandemic, it\u2019s k-pop themed, it was a very specific film, Netflix paid the whole cost plus a profit premium to us. At the time it made sense, but in hindsight you think maybe it could\u2019ve been theatrical, and in fact Netflix took it to theaters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Surely, if Sony could take a time machine back in time, they might want to see if <em>KPop Demon Hunters<\/em> could have seen the same success if it went straight to theaters like its other titles, like <em>Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse <\/em>or some of the earlier <em>Hotel Transylvania<\/em> movies. Ahuja\u2019s comments (via <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/business\/business-news\/sony-ceo-says-netflix-right-home-kpop-demon-hunters-1236361280\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:The Hollywood Reporter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><u>The Hollywood Reporter<\/u><\/a>) illuminate why Sony decided to take it to Netflix instead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">For one, it started going into production in 2021 (one year after the COVID-19 pandemic), and there were some concerns about whether it could perform in an uncertain theatrical climate. Additionally, the studio saw its K-pop theme being perhaps too \u201cspecific\u201d for mainstream audiences and decided not to gamble on it for a wide theatrical audience.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Enter Netflix, which paid generously for the movie. Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix have had a solid relationship for years, with the animation division bringing other movies like <em>Vivo<\/em>, <em>Wish Dragon<\/em> and <em>The Mitchells vs. the Machines<\/em> to the streaming service first. But none of those movies have seen the cultural impact we\u2019ve found with <em>KPop Demon Hunters<\/em>. Here\u2019s what else Ahuja said during the conference on the subject:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"mb-4 border-l-2 pl-5 italic text-tertiary\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It started out on Netflix, and word of mouth made it grow. In theatrical, that is a lot harder to do. I think it was in the right home. I think KPop Demon Hunters\u2019 right home was Netflix, but yeah, it is an interesting question, could it have been theatrical? It is hard to say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>KPop Demon Hunter<\/em>\u2019s success has proved it has wide appeal. Much of the music became the biggest soundtrack of the year to date, charting on the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/charts\/hot-100\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Billboard Hot 100;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><u>Billboard Hot 100<\/u><\/a> \u2013 \u201cGolden\u201d is currently at No. 1, and three other songs are in the top 10. When it came to theaters, it topped the box office at $20 million despite the movie not playing in any AMC Theatre location.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It is a curious question that we\u2019ll think about for a long time. Would <em>KPop Demon Hunters<\/em> have been so big if it didn\u2019t go to Netflix first? And, could it have boosted the 2025 summer box office?<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Going forward, what\u2019s done is done. A <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/kpop-demon-hunters-2-cant-140200037.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:KPop Demon Hunters sequel;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\"><u><em>KPop Demon Hunters<\/em><\/u><u> sequel<\/u><\/a> is expected to be made under Netflix since the streaming service owns the franchise, including merchandising rights. Either way, it\u2019s great to see Sony Animation have such a massive success with the movie, and they certainly share the win with Netflix.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Netflix Netflix\u2019s KPop Demon Hunters became the streaming service\u2019s most successful original of all time this summer, thanks to its soundtrack of bangers, having a glowing feel-good message that has really stuck with audiences, and its Korean [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2003586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[339263,23191,364791,327177],"class_list":["post-2003585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-kpop-demon-hunters","tag-netflix","tag-sony-animation","tag-streaming-service"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Sony-Head-Honcho-Reflects-On-Decision-To-Sell-KPop-Demon.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2003585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2003586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2003585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2003585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2003585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}