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Anime over Hollywood: how Japan is redefining storytelling
by Luca Fontana
K-Pop Demon Hunters: how Sony gave away a billion-dollar hit
12-9-2025
Translation: Katherine Martin
A K-pop girl band hunting demons at night may sound bonkers, but it went on to become Netflix’s biggest animated hit. Still, K-Pop Demon Hunters is more than just a film. In fact, it’s a valuable lesson on Hollywood’s blindness and the rise of Asia.
When K-Pop Demon Hunters dropped on Netflix in June, something happened that you don’t see every day in Hollywood. An animated film triggered the biggest cultural earthquake since Frozen. From international charts to TikTok, cosplay trends to broken streaming records, K-pop and demon-hunting were suddenly everywhere. A new franchise potentially worth billions was born.
And the wildest thing about it all? Sony practically handed it over to Netflix on a plate.
But more on that later.
The crazy idea
It was crazy, over-the-top and an ode to her Korean roots.
Unlike many other Hollywood projects, it wasn’t a soulless pitch – it was a piece of biography. Maggie was born in Seoul, grew up in Canada and, as a teenager, often had to hide her passion for K-pop and Korean folklore because she was laughed at for it. This was the very thing she wanted to turn into a story. One that included so-called idols, who, rather than being perfect and unapproachable, were quirky, funny and vulnerable. Just like Maggie herself.
Aaron Warner, producer of Dreamworks’ Shrek and now a Sony producer, immediately recognised the idea was more than just fluff. While others scoffed at the concept, he simply said: «I love it. I want to make this.»
Just a week later, the project was a done deal. But not everyone at Sony was on board.
As Sony hesitates, the hunter sniffs out an opportunity
While Aaron Warner was driving the project forward, the higher-ups at Sony were slamming the brakes. Demon-hunting K-pop idols? Too risky. Hollywood loves safe bets. Think sequels, prequels, spin-offs, superheroes and well-known franchises with established fanbases. K-Pop Demon Hunters didn’t fit into any of these categories.
On top of that, many people were avoiding cinemas in the wake of the pandemic. Sony, in turn, was keen to avoid risk.
Ironically, this was the exact moment when the K-Wave was surging across the world. South Korean boy band BTS was filling stadiums in Asia, Blackpink was breaking international streaming records and productions like Parasite and Squid Game were demonstrating that South Korean culture had long since gone from niche to mainstream.
When all the signs were pointing to a K-wave storm, Sony reached for the umbrellas. With the K-Pop project becoming increasingly expensive at Sony Pictures Animation – the studio behind Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – the idea very nearly disappeared into a filing cabinet. But then another industry player sniffed out an opportunity: Netflix.
The streaming giant had long since recognised what Sony was missing right under its nose.
Sony loses out, Netflix cashes in
20 million dollars, risk-free.
It sounded great. On paper. What Sony didn’t realise was that it’d been sitting on a lottery ticket set to hit the pop culture jackpot. And instead of waiting for the numbers to be drawn, they sold it to Netflix at a discount. The deal meant the streaming platform would buy not just a film, but one of the mightiest global fandoms in history.
For Netflix, K-Pop Demon Hunters has become what Frozen was for Disney: a potentially billion-dollar core of a new franchise with almost endless spin-off, prequel, sequel and even live-action potential. And Sony? All of this got them a laughable profit of 20 million dollars.
At least for now.
The tug-of-war over a franchise worth billions
Sony CEO Ravi Ahuja recently confirmed that Netflix owns the worldwide distribution and franchise rights to the film. These include streaming, cinema events, merchandising and even Netflix store merchandise. However, the production rights for any potential sequels still belong to Sony Pictures Animation.
In other words, neither party can do anything without the other at this point.
Suffice it to say, the big battle for the franchise has begun. At the moment, Netflix is sitting pretty. As for what’s next, Sony and Netflix are contractually bound to each other. If they want to go on milking that K-pop cash cow, they have no choice but to find a solution together.
And solutions are always available when this much money’s at stake…
Header image: Netflix / Sony Pictures Animation
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
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