“KPop Demon Hunters” just made history, and it could make Netflix money for a long time to come.
The K-pop-infused movie is off to a better start than any other film in Netflix’s history, the company said Tuesday. “KPop Demon Hunters” has generated 236 million views since its debut, more than any other Netflix movie in its first 91 days — and it achieved that feat in 65 days.
Netflix’s animated smash-hit has shown remarkable staying power on the streamer’s global charts, thanks to social media buzz and a viral soundtrack that’s second on Billboard’s Global 200 rankings. Its songs were so popular that Netflix brought a sing-along version to big screens last weekend, where it topped the box office with an $18 million haul in the US and Canada.
Netflix has already struck gold with “KPop Demon Hunters,” but it may have found a gold mine.
If the streaming giant can leverage “KPop Demon Hunters” to build its own global franchise, Hollywood powerhouses like Disney should take notice.
“Netflix has always wanted to beat Disney — now it has the chance to try and prove it can match the Mouse House’s franchise development,” said Brandon Katz, the insights and content strategy director at entertainment data provider Greenlight Analytics.
Turning a hit into a franchise
Unlike Disney, Netflix doesn’t have nearly a century of celebrated IP to lean on. Instead of using nostalgia in reboots and live-action remakes, it has to build its franchises from the ground up.
While Netflix has not created many movies or shows that will inspire generations of fandom, “KPop Demon Hunters” could be a notable exception.
“‘KPop Demon Hunters’ is Netflix’s ‘Frozen’ — I see a lot of parallels,” a Netflix employee who’d previously spent close to a decade at Disney told Business Insider.
Movie analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Comscore chose a different Disney property as a parallel: “Maybe for young people today, this is like their equivalent of Star Wars.”
Media companies from Netflix to Paramount are looking for their next signature franchise that leads to sequels and sparks merchandise sales or theme park visits, Dergarabedian said. A sleeper hit like “KPop Demon Hunters” is what film execs pray for.
“The entertainment industry loves nothing more than a surprise breakout hit,” Dergarabedian said.
Netflix’s first big challenge — creating a certified blockbuster — is complete, but its work is far from over.
Turning a hit movie like “KPop Demon Hunters” into a full-blown franchise “requires carefully calculated quality IP cultivation,” Katz said. That means giving fans much of what they want, from sing-along events in theaters to sequels to merchandise, without overloading them.
Disney learned this the hard way with Marvel. It followed several billion-dollar blockbusters with a deluge of Marvel shows on Disney+, and the ensuing superhero fatigue has proven difficult to shake.
“Quantity trumped quality,” Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige told Variety in June regarding Marvel’s old more-is-more approach.
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