With August being deadsville for big movies, theater owners were lobbying hard for Netflix to extend ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ for another weekend of showings. Sadly, the streamer has given them the middle finger. It’s not happening.
Yes, despite ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ selling out 1,300 screenings nationwide—shown only on Saturday and Sunday, with barely any marketing, no AMC participation—and earning the top spot at the box office ($20M), Netflix has decided that was more than enough. The streamer has made the sing-along version, which played theatrically, available to watch on their platform starting today.
Historically, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Netflix has resisted long theatrical windows, and despite the demand here being undeniable, they don’t care. Their long game is to turn moviegoing into a relic of the past.
Prior to ‘KPop,’ Netflix never had a #1 movie at the box office, either domestically or globally, under the traditional theatrical model. For two weeks, “Weapons” held the crown, but with an estimated $15M, it finished in second place.
For Netflix, it’s not a free win. The company has spent years conditioning subscribers to think of streaming as the only destination for new releases. This goes against everything their company wants to push for. Netflix isn’t in the business of making moviegoing look good—they’re in the business of making moviegoing irrelevant.
The irony, of course, is that Netflix achieved something most traditional studios would kill for, a genuine grassroots box office phenomenon. Yet the company’s own philosophy prevents it from celebrating. To them, acknowledging the win undermines their long-term strategy. They didn’t even divulge the actual numbers ’KPop’ made this weekend, outlets had to ask exhibitors for the numbers.
So instead of celebrating an unexpected $20M triumph, Netflix has treated “KPop Demon Hunters” like an inconvenient success. The message is clear, even when their films top the box office, they’ll downplay it, because the real victory for them isn’t ticket sales—it’s keeping you glued to the platform.
Cory Finley, a talented filmmaker, has directed three films so far: "Thoroughbreds" (2017), "Bad Education” (2020), and "Landscape with Invisible Hand.”