Sony Animation Executives Insist KPop Demon Hunters Was a Must for Netflix

With *KPop Demon Hunters* making a splash in theaters over the weekend of August 22 to 24, pulling in $18 to $20 million from 1,700 North American locations, you might assume that the heads of Sony Animation Pictures, Kristine Belson and Damien de Froberville, are regretting their decision to skip a theatrical release.

However, in a recent interview, Belson and de Froberville made it clear that they have no regrets. “One million percent, it had to be on Netflix. It was the perfect storm of that movie coming together with the power of that platform. You have these check-ins: three days, 10 days, 28 days,” Belson explained.

De Froberville added that during these check-in periods, they received updates from Netflix about the film’s performance. The calls on days three and ten were fairly neutral, but by day 14, things took a turn. “We got a call from Hannah Minghella, the head of Feature Animation and Family Film at Netflix. ‘Something is going on here.’ So, it needed time, which you do not get theatrically,” Belson noted.

It’s an understatement to say that *KPop Demon Hunters* has thrived on streaming. It has become Netflix’s most-watched original film, surpassing Ryan Reynolds’ 2021 action-comedy *Red Notice*. As of January 20, it had consistently remained in Netflix’s top 10, although it has since dropped off the list.

The success of *KPop Demon Hunters* has the studio buzzing with activity, though Belson hinted that a 2029 release for *KPop Demon Hunters 2* might be unlikely.

Belson and de Froberville also shared insights about their other animated gem, the *Spider-Verse* franchise.

“On *Spider-Verse*, I was like, ‘How are they going to top [2023’s] *Across the Spider-Verse*? And then we’re looking at art and design for 2027’s *Beyond the Spider-Verse*, and it’s really blowing my mind,” de Froberville remarked.

Sony Animation Pictures has also enlisted live-action director of photography Alice Brooks. De Froberville explained that Brooks has been directing in a way that they hadn’t explored in *Spider-Verse* before. “We’re in animation on *Spider-Verse* now. Because the directors and Chris and Phil have a chance to iterate so much early on while we’re in story, and truly visualize what it’s going to look like by the time those sequences flow into the Imageworks pipeline, there are way fewer changes.”

Belson and de Froberville confirmed that spin-offs featuring *Spider-Gwen* and *Spider-Punk* are actively in development, though they couldn’t divulge much more. Whether you’re a fan of *KPop Demon Hunters* or eagerly awaiting the next animated Spider-Man adventure, Sony Animation Pictures is definitely on the move.