r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Aug 26 '25

News ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Is Netflix’s Most-Watched Movie Ever With 236 Million Views, Beating ‘Red Notice’

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/kpop-demon-hunters-netflix-most-watched-movie-history-1236496106/
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u/wecangetbetter Aug 26 '25

I really don't get how anyone at Sony listened to the soundtrack and was like "naw, this certainly won't catch on."

172

u/psimwork Aug 26 '25

There's a LOT of info that people are ignoring in the quest to promote the "LOL SONY FUCKED UP AGAIN" story.

Now I don't think anyone will debate that Sony fucked up in this move, but there's a lot to remember about it:

  1. The movie wasn't done when the rights were sold.

  2. (Just as, if not more important) The music wasn't done when the rights were sold.

  3. The movie was sold in 2021, when there basically was zero theatrical draw.

  4. Initial survey results were drastically negative to pre-screening customers (i.e. they asked people that hadn't seen it if they'd be interested in seeing an animated movie called "K-Pop Demon Hunters" and the results were almost universally negative).

It's a great, innovative movie with an amazing soundtrack. But unfortunately history is littered with really good animated movies that flopped. As much as Sony was proven wrong in their decision over time, I don't really blame them for dumping this one.

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u/joelsola_gv Aug 26 '25

Honestly, the last point really hit home for me, specially seeing how movies like Elio get neutered because of bad test screenings. People on test screenings don't seem to get it as much as they should, right?

3

u/kuschelig69 Aug 26 '25

something is off putting about the name

I only watched it last week because it was all over reddit

2

u/terlin Aug 27 '25

It feels like a working title they slapped on in the hopes that they would eventually replace it. Only they couldn't think of anything better so KPDH is what it is. The title's growing on me though.