Netflix wants to release KPop Demon Hunters 2 in theaters

After the enormous success of the first film on its platform, Netflix is ​​preparing a much more ambitious theatrical release for its sequel, expected in 2029.

Netflix wants to do things big with KPop Demon Hunters 2.

The second part of the animated phenomenon should benefit from a much wider cinema release than the first, before arriving on the platform.

During the Bloomberg Screentime event (via Deadline), Netflix boss Ted Sarandos confirmed that the sequel, expected in 2029, would be entitled to “a very wide theatrical release”. A strategy which marks a change of direction for a franchise whose first film had nevertheless been designed above all for streaming.

And Netflix has good reasons to give it a try: KPop Demon Hunters recorded 325.1 million views in its first 90 days and remained in the platform’s global Top 10 for 63 consecutive weeks. Its karaoke version, then released in cinemas, even grossed around $19 million in two days, ranking number 1 at the American box office.

The license therefore has the potential to bring in big returns at the box office.

Moreover, Netflix speaks of a “worldwide release” for this second part and therefore not only limited to the American market.

Obviously, in France, this brings us back to the media chronology: if Netflix comes out KPop Demon Hunters 2 in theaters on a Wednesday with other new releases, the platform will have to wait 17 months before being able to offer the film to its subscribers in streaming… Would the network be ready to question its model on the French market?

It must be remembered that for Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, directed by Greta Gerwig, the platform has decided and will not release the film in cinemas in France unlike the rest of the world: the feature film will arrive directly on Netflix on April 2, 2027 while it will benefit from a cinema release (notably in IMAX) from February 12, 2027 in other countries, particularly in the United States, i.e. a 50-day cinema window.

For Sarandos, theatrical receipts will not be the only indicator of success. He rather sees exploitation in cinema as limited risk-taking, with the possibility of obtaining “a very big profit” before the film arrives on Netflix.

There remains a paradox: a big success at the cinema does not necessarily guarantee a hit on Netflix. The biggest fans may have already seen the film in theaters, mechanically reducing the number of spectators who will discover it for the first time when it is put online.