Sarandos confirms: “KPop Demon Hunters 2” comes to cinemas worldwide — a major shift in Netflix’s strategy

Netflix is preparing for an unprecedented step: “KPop Demon Hunters 2”, the sequel to the 2025 animated phenomenon, will be released in cinemas around the world before it arrives on the platform, as the streaming giant’s co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, confirmed on Wednesday on the Bloomberg Screentime stage in Los Angeles, according to Deadline’s reporting.

“When the ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ sequel comes, you can expect a very wide theatrical release,” Sarandos said, describing the plan as “big, wide and global” — a radical change from the strategy for the first film, which appeared exclusively on Netflix in June 2025 and never had a traditional cinema release, as ComingSoon reports. The exact release date is expected in 2029, although the company has not yet officially confirmed the date.

The first film’s figures explain the decision: 325.1 million views in the first 90 days — the absolute record for an original film on Netflix — and 63 consecutive weeks in the global Top 10. The film, produced by Sony Pictures Animation and directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, tells the story of the girl group Huntr/x, who fight demons at night. Even the “singalong” version released on a limited basis in cinemas earned around $19 million in just two days in America, showing the public’s appetite to see the story on the big screen.

The announcement is part of a broader shift in Netflix’s theatrical policy. Sarandos said big family films will benefit from wide cinema releases: Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” and “Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory” will receive theatrical windows of 50 and 47 days respectively, while “La Bola Negra” will get 46 days. For the first time, the company will also report box office results for these releases, Sarandos said in Los Angeles.

The Netflix co-CEO stressed that the company does not expect theatrical revenue to determine the films’ financial success on its own; he sees the cinema release as “a limited risk with the potential for a very large gain” before the film arrives on the platform.