We might’ve spoken too soon. Despite what seemed like it could be a change of heart, Netflix has confirmed it has no plans to shift its release strategy when it comes to theatrical exhibition.
“There’s no change in the strategy,” CEO Ted Sarandos explained of the company’s view on theatrical distribution of their on-platform titles at a recent earnings conference. “Our strategy is to give our members exclusive first-run movies on Netflix.”
In fact, Sarandos went on to assert that Netflix’s latest major hit, KPop Demon Hunters, which played theatrically for a weekend in August using the film’s “singalong” edition, only became a sensation “because it was released on Netflix first.”
According to the streaming exec, “superfans” of KPop Demon Hunters quickly latched onto the film and “drove the recommendation engine.” In his eyes, this is the key to the company’s stance on theatrical distribution. “If anything, this actually reinforces our strategy, because being on Netflix actually allowed the film to build momentum,” he told audiences at the conference.
That tracks in some capacity, as KPop Demon Hunters was not an initial hit. Social media and word of mouth ended up catapulting it to Netflix’s most watched movie ever with an incredible 400 million views. Shortly after the craze became apparent, the singalong version went to theaters for a special weekend engagement and ended up grossing an impressive $19 million globally over just two days.
This all said, it’s clear Netflix isn’t entirely abandoning the theatrical exhibition strategy. Forexample, Guillermo del Toro’s latest, Frankenstein, is currently enjoying a short theatrical run nationwide ahead of its November 7 premiere date on the platform, and Rian Johnson’s next project, Wake Up Dead Man, will also see a short theatrical release window — which will kick off for the Thanksgiving holiday — before it arrives on Netflix on December 12. Plus, Kpop Demon Hunters will be back in theaters again for Halloween weekend, and even the final episode of Stranger Things will drop in theaters simultaneously with its Netflix premiere.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
