KPop Demon Hunters will land a significant theatrical rollout.
Netflix has shared some of its perspective to theatrically releasing its titles.
KPop Demon Hunters swept two Oscars this year.
The sequel to KPop Demon Hunters is touted to get a “broad theatrical release,” according to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Speaking on Wednesday, Sarandos emphasised the company’s increasing propensity to lend its films longer theatrical runs.
During Bloomberg Screentime in Los Angeles, Sarandos revealed audiences could expect the KPop Demon Hunters sequel to receive a wide theatrical rollout when it is released.
This reflects a broader change in Netflix’s strategy, with the streaming giant increasingly prioritizing theatrical releases before bringing its films to the platform. Ahead of the release of the KPop Demon Hunters sequel, Netflix will give La Bola Negra its first-ever full 45-day theatrical run. Greta Gerwig’s Narnia is also scheduled for a wide theatrical release next year, alongside the animated Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory.
Meanwhile, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, directed by David Fincher, written by Quentin Tarantino, and starring Brad Pitt, will make history as the first Netflix film to be shown in IMAX. The movie is scheduled to hit IMAX theaters in November, just ahead of Thanksgiving.
Ted Sarandos Outlines Netflix's Theatrical Approach
“What we’re doing is looking at this model and saying, ‘okay, how do we serve movie lovers who may want to see this movie in a theater,’ and ‘how do we not harm value to Netflix?’” Sarandos said. “How do we position the film best in the world?”
“The most passionate audience went to see it in the theater, so by the time it comes to Netflix, you’ve lost that passionate audience, and you got the people that go, ‘Oh, I meant to see that,’ or ‘I’ll get around to that,’” he said.
“‘Train Dreams,’ last year — that could have played in the theaters for six months and … it would have done net positive to those kind of arthouse films, and then the other end is the four quad[rant] family rewatch movie … so we said let’s take those two and treat them different,” he said, noting the wide releases for both “Narnia” and “Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory.”
In March, Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation officially announced that a sequel was in development, with Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans set to return to lead the project.
The news came after the original film emerged the most-watched movie in Netflix’s history, capping a major milestone for the streaming platform.
