Why You Can’t See Netflix’s ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ In Theaters Anymore

KPop Demon Hunters

Netflix

Netflix continues to be a somewhat baffling company when it comes to its prized original properties, specifically its movies where it is sometimes experimenting with limited theatrical release, and at times even fighting with creators about getting their movies into theaters in the first place. Now, we see one of the strangest situations so far with KPop Demon Hunters.

The “sing-along” version of KPop Demon Hunters was put into just 1,700 theaters (half what most movies get) for just two days, and in that time, won the domestic weekend box office with $18 million, ahead of Weapons, Freakier Friday and Fantastic Four. Now, Netflix has already yanked it out of theaters, and has put that sing-along version on the service itself this Monday.

Netflix almost seems…embarrassed by how well KPop Demon Hunters has done, as it may be a sign that some of its top movies would do well to be released in theaters rather than shoveled onto the service with dozens and dozens of others in a given month. The official Netflix Twitter account, for instance, does not have any news about how much money KPop Demon Hunters made this weekend, nor its overall win. Rather, they have many tweets about some KPop Demon Hunters live performances and the fact that the sing-along version is now on Netflix. My inbox, which has been full of KPop Demon Hunters news and records via Netflix PR before this, has sent nothing at all about this. Bizarre.

Netflix’s goal, of course, is to get people to sign up for its service, not to not watch movies on its service and head to theaters instead, hence why this kind of thing rarely happens. That said, I am wondering just how many Netflix original movies would actually do well in theaters as many of them are well, pretty bad, and they do not have the rights to almost any big blockbuster IPs. It’s also the case that many filmmakers don’t want to work with them because of the theatrical ban. Even those that do work with them seem grumpy about it, like Frankenstein star Jacob Elordi wishing his Guillermo Del Toro picture would get more than the three-week run Netflix is giving it.

“It’s heartbreaking that films like these don’t have full cinematic releases,” Elordi said. “My great hope is that we get this film in cinemas for as long as possible. And then, hopefully, that can set a precedent for more films out there.”

Calling the release “heartbreaking” certainly is something when we’re talking about the reason the film was able to get made in the first place, though I understand what he’s saying.

No, I would not imagine KPop Demon Hunters 2 or 3 or 4 or however many we get will head to theaters in any meaningful capacity, but it is downright strange how Netflix barely seems to want to acknowledge the record it just set.

Netflix remains in a strange place where they want to dominate the entertainment landscape but they are tepid about venturing outside their box. While we will see more theater dabbling to come, I doubt it will be in any meaningful capacity if they are almost hiding records like this.

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