Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Ravi Ahuja discussed the summer studio breakout film “KPOP Demon Hunters” at the Bank of America Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference in New York on Thursday. Speaking about analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich’s distribution agreement with Sony’s Netflix, Ahuja said the deal with Streamer “makes sense.”
Sony produced “KPOP Demon Hunters” and sold distribution rights to Netflix for direct release to streaming. The animated fantasy musical became the most streamed film on the most streamed platform of all time, surpassing “Red Notifications” with 236 million views. The film’s singing version then debuted in theaters on August 23rd, earning over $19 million at the box office in its weekend opening match on 1,700 screens.
Given the unprecedented success of the film, many speculate that Sony should maintain “KPOP Demon Hunter” for exclusive plays. Afja himself is still stumbling over ideas and told Erich, “This is a question we ask, and everyone is asking us too. You know, I don’t.”
Ahuja then provided some context for the film’s sales, explaining that Sony developed the film as part of the studio’s output deal with Netflix. “We were working directly on the platform as part of that deal,” he says.
However, he acknowledges that the success of “KPOP Demon Hunters” could be a product of Netflix’s involvement and the buzz acquired through streamers. “It started with Netflix and word of mouth has grown. With theater, that’s much more difficult,” he admits, “It’s hard to maintain a theatre. So I think our mission is to create great content and find the right home. But that’s an interesting question: “Was it a theatre?” Well, it’s hard to say. You really don’t know. That’s possible, but I don’t think it’s obvious. ”
Netflix also retains the rights to music and merchandising to the film, but Ahuja quickly confirmed through Sony Music Publishing that Sony was on the soundtrack. But more importantly, Sony retains the rights to make sequels to the film, which could possibly lead to an alternative release strategy.
However, Ahuja doesn’t regret a Netflix victory. “The goal of this deal was to make a hit. The great thing about being independent is that when our clients did well, we were happy, so it worked, right?”
“Kpop Demon Hunters” is directed by Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan and scriptwriter Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang. It was produced by Michelle Wong, who previously worked at Sony Pictures Animation on Vivo, Meatballs Chance and Cloudy, Hotel Transylvania 2, and Surf’s Up 2: Wavemania.
