Netflix is thinking big with KPop Demon Hunters 2 — very big indeed — and above all it's switching strategy after the colossal success of the first instalment. Inevitably: with more than 600 million views, why settle for dropping the sequel on the platform when you could blow up the box office first and let it live out its days on streaming afterwards? Ted Sarandos, Netflix's co-CEO, has just confirmed it: KPop Demon Hunters 2, due in 2029, will get a theatrical run, and it will be a worldwide launch.
More than 600 million views on Netflix
This change of strategy is easy enough to explain when you look at the phenomenon the first film became. As a reminder, KPop Demon Hunters racked up 325.1 million views during its first 90 days on Netflix and spent 63 consecutive weeks in the platform's global Top 10. Two months after landing on the platform, a sing-along version of KPop Demon Hunters was screened in cinemas in the United States and took around $19 million in just two days, topping the box office.
Ted Sarandos now sees KPop Demon Hunters 2 as one of those films that justifies a global release, presumably with all the glitz and glitter needed to make the event land in every territory (well, with one exception — you'll see where this is going). At the 'Bloomberg Screentime' event held last night in the US, he explained that Netflix intends to treat its films differently depending on their big-screen potential. Family-friendly productions, the kind people watch more than once, are among those that deserve a far more ambitious and prestigious rollout.
A worldwide release — except in France?
It's a new approach that also takes in Greta Gerwig's Narnia: The Magician's Nephew and Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory, both of which are also set for a run in cinemas before landing on Netflix. For Narnia, Netflix is planning a 50-day theatrical window, while Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory gets 47 days; very precise. Netflix has also said it will start releasing box office takings for these films, which marks a genuine shift in mindset from a company that long refused to treat theatrical results as a real measure of success.
There is one snag, however, because this strategy doesn't work for France, where the media chronology rules are set to complicate Netflix's plans. A cinema release for KPop Demon Hunters 2 would inevitably mean a much longer wait before it reaches the platform — or worse, no theatrical release at all, as is the case with Narnia: The Magician's Nephew. Yes, Greta Gerwig's feature will hit cinemas in several countries from 12 February 2027 before heading to Netflix, while over here in France the film will go straight to the platform on 2 April 2027. Yeah, it's a letdown.
