KPop Demon Hunters, the 2025 phenomenon whose sing-along version stormed the North American box office charts over the weekend, has become Netflix’s most popular English-language film of all time.
The animated adventure’s cult status was cemented on Tuesday when the streamer revealed in its weekly charts that it added 25.4million views last week to reach 236million, overhauling the previous record holder Red Notice starring none other than Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds on 230.9million.
Last weekend Netflix released the sing-along version in a two-day theatrical engagement that ranked number one ahead of Warner Bros’ summer breakout Weapons. It followed that up by dropping the sing-along version on the platform on Monday.
True to form, the streamer declined to report its theatrical grosses, although rival studios estimated the haul to be around $19m.
Netflix is in early talks with supplier Sony on a sequel to the Sony Pictures Animation hit.
KPop’s success has predictably revived calls for the streamer to change its model and embrace longer, more substantial theatrical releases. The company is highly unlikely to do that, while it will continue to stage limited releases to promote the arrival of awards contenders or other select features on the platform.
There are anomalies. Next year, Greta Gerwig’s Narnia will debut exclusively in Imax for two weeks starting on the late November Thanksgiving holiday. However by and large the streamer believes in playing to its strengths and prioritising the platform for subscribers.
No comments yet