Unfortunately, no one can predict the future. Let’s talk about it!
Have you watched KPOP Demon Hunters yet? It’s not only the biggest streaming movie of the year, but the biggest movie in the history of streaming, with a huge cultural impact to match it! But nobody thought this film was going to be as big as it’s become, and Netlfix and Sony Pictures Animation were as caught off guard as anyone. Were they asleep at the wheel… or is this just part of what happens when new ideas break through in a big way?
TRANSCRIPT:
Sean Jordan (00:00.077)
You might’ve missed it, but Sony Pictures Animation just released something new on Netflix this summer. And no, I’m not talking about K-Pop Demon Hunter, it’s a smash hit animated film of the summer. We will get to that one. I’m instead talking about Fixed, a new comedy film from the legendary animator, Genndy Tartakovsky, who’s best known for heavily stylized cartoon shows like Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, and Star Wars Clone Wars, as well as the Hotel Transylvania series of movies.
It’s a cartoon movie about dogs that’s got a star-studded cast of voice actors like Adam Devine, Idris Elba, Catherine Hahn, and Fred Armisen, as well as involvement from John Vede, one of the original producers and writers on The Simpsons, and a writer for King of the Hill. So on paper, this looks like a movie that ought to find a pretty sizable audience. Animated comedies do well with most demographics, and Netflix is the biggest streaming service out there, but fixed as a flop.
Such a big one, in fact, that almost nobody’s talking about it other than to express their surprise that it even exists. And there are three major reasons why. First of all, it’s an R-rated sex comedy about dogs giving one of their pals a night out before he gets neutered. Second, it’s made with 3D animation that doesn’t really match Genndy Tartakovsky’s distinctive style. The character designs aren’t too memorable and the dogs aren’t exactly Lady and the Tramp. And finally,
It’s just not that funny. It’s not funny in the trailers. It’s not funny as a premise, and it’s definitely not funny during its 85 minute runtime. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I’m bringing this up, though, because we’re going to spend the rest of this episode talking about Netflix’s biggest hit of the year, and actually the biggest hit in the entire existence of the streaming video platform. Netflix went into the summer thinking that the second season of their Addams Family spinoff, Wednesday, was going to be their show of the summer. But then…
K-Pop Demon Hunters arrived and it’s a really, really big deal. I’m Sean in St. Louis and this is the Marketing Gateway.
Sean Jordan (02:01.804)
If you haven’t seen the movie, you really should. It’s a family-friendly film about a Korean girl group called Huntrix, that’s the K-pop part, that was formed as part of an ancient tradition to seal away the demon world through the magic of their music. But just before they can make the seal permanent with the release of their hit song Golden, the demons launch their own boy band called the Saja Boys and start undoing the spell as they climb the charts. A bunch of things happen before the two groups have to face off in a crowded stadium full of fans and
Let’s just say that everything in that third act is really truly epic. Complete with two songs that each really encapsulate the emotions of both sides of the conflict. So you got action, got catchy music, you got boys versus girls and animation from the same studio that made the critically acclaimed Spider-Verse movies. So what is a foregone conclusion? This would be a big hit, right? Actually, no. And you can tell by looking at how Sony Pictures Animation treated it.
from the early stages of production because they worked out a deal with Netflix back in 2021 to pay around $125 million for the production costs and fees in exchange for a relatively small take of any profits. $20 million plus some revenues from the soundtrack. Netflix didn’t really make a big deal about it either, treating it as one of their many productions they had on their upcoming slate and building very little anticipation for the movie before its release on June 20th of 2025.
I’m gonna guess they saw the movie’s quality during production and expected it to be a moderate success. Maybe on par with a hit like the Japanese anime movie, Mary and the Witch’s Flower, or an animated film based on a graphic novel like Nimona, or something family-friendly like Wallace and Gromit Vengeance Most Foul or Chicken Run Dawn of the Nugget. Netflix knows better than anyone that critical success is not the same as audience success, and no matter how good they may have felt this film was going to be,
The quirky title, the deep references to Korean mythology, and the K-pop heavy soundtrack probably made them feel like they had a cult classic or sleeper hit on their hands at best. Instead, they got this monster hit of a movie. A cultural touchstone that people are watching dozens of times, singing along with the songs to and speculating about what’s going to happen in the two sequels that have already been rushed in production, the soundtrack has hit the top of most global charts.
Sean Jordan (04:22.604)
And two of the songs, Huntress is Golden and the Saja Boys’ You’re Idle, have been duking it out for number one and number two on the singles charts, not so different from what happens in the movie itself. If you walk into any school in America right now, you’re probably going to hear some kids singing the music. It’s become that popular, that fast. You know, the last time a movie hit this big and unexpectedly was 12 years ago with Disney’s Frozen.
And that probably means that we’re going to see a lot of kids dressed up as Huntrix and the Saja Boys for Halloween this year. Except… maybe we won’t. Because Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation were so caught off guard by this movie’s popularity that they didn’t think they’ll license much merchandise before it arrived. And this is worth mentioning because ever since George Lucas showed Hollywood how to print money with merchandising with the Star Wars trilogy, big summer blockbusters have almost
always been accompanied by a wave of merchandise and cross-promotional products that arrive on the shelves months before the film even comes out so they can capture the early interest and expose consumers to the fact that yeah, this movie exists and it’s coming to theater soon. Well, I’m sure Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation won’t make that mistake twice because a few years from now when the sequels are ready for release, there’s going to be a huge wave of marketing to get people ready for it.
I know my kids are already buying up t-shirts and hoodies and fun copops of the characters and I expect a lot of other kids are already doing the same thing too. But let’s talk for a moment about why it’s so hard to predict when a film is going to hit this hard. Because in terms of viewers and popularity, K-Pop Demon Hunters has beat out many animated feature films released this year. Films you probably have even forgotten came out. So here’s just a few.
Okay, DreamWorks animations, The Bad Guys 2, Universal Pictures, Dog Man, Disney Pixar’s Elio, Nickelodeon’s Plankton, the movie, and Paramount Pictures’ Smurfs. And of course, we also had live action remakes of Disney’s Lilo and Stitch and DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon, as well as the It Might as Well Have Been Animated movie, a Minecraft movie. And you know what? Aside from K-Pop Demon Hunters, all of those movies
Sean Jordan (06:40.206)
have also been beaten out by another movie you probably haven’t even heard of. The Chinese film Nezha 2, a movie based on an ancient Chinese mythological story which has grossed over $2 billion worldwide. Which is far more than every other animated film released in 2025 combined. Not bad for a film that only cost $80 million to make. And by the way, that’s three times the amount the first Nezha made in the box office back in 2019.
and it was considered a huge success in that year. So one lesson we might try to take away from this is that films based around Asian mythology are doing really well right now. Certainly better than franchise films and Disney Pixar originals, but that’s not actually what’s happening because there have been many films from Japan, South Korea and China that haven’t made much of an impression at all in 2025. So let’s go with this instead. Consumers are, hm, finicky.
when it comes to products like entertainment. They don’t know what they want until it’s in front of them. And there’s a really important social aspect to what they consume that’s more important today than ever before. They like things that are familiar, but they love things that are interesting to talk about. So the smartest thing, the smartest move a company producing entertainment products can make is to create a slate of productions that include several different possibilities. That’s why Netflix was willing to take a risk on something topical.
and interesting like K-Pop Demon Hunters, but also gamble in an R-rated canine comedy by a proven team of animators like Fixed. But that finicky nature also means it’s really hard to predict when something is going to be a major hit. In my own field of marketing research, I get reminded all the time about how research showed the show Seinfeld was supposed to be a major flop, and it wasn’t. And also how research taste tests showed New Coke was supposed to be this big thing, and then it flopped so hard they had to bring the original Coca-Cola back.
These are famous stories and they point to fact that nobody, even a really great researcher, has a crystal ball into what the future is actually going to look like. What we can do though, is minimize risk. And that’s exactly what Sony Pictures Animation did. And it’s also why Netflix was the perfect partner for it. If you’re going to create something that’s not a sure thing, and you don’t want to lose a ton of money on it, the smartest thing to do is find someone with a greater appetite for risk,
Sean Jordan (09:04.896)
and then have them fund it. The only downside of that strategy is that they get to reap the reward if that crazy risk pays off. And when that partner is Netflix, you can presume the reward is going to be vague and buried in all sorts of internal metrics instead of simply giving you a billion dollar windfall like K-pop demon hunters could have generated. But there is a silver lining to all of this. In animation, sequels tend to do
really well, regardless of their quality, because people like things that are familiar and which are family-friendly. They’re a good, safe option. Pixar’s Inside Out was considered one of Disney Pixar’s best movies, but it didn’t even crack a billion in global box office revenue when it was in theaters. The second film doubled it with $1.7 billion in box office returns, and in a time where it’s a lot harder to get people to go to the movies even. Something similar happened with The Incredibles and The Incredibles 2, both Pixar films.
And in both cases, the sequel was widely considered the lesser film despite generating a lot more in the way of returns. Universal and Illumination’s first Despicable Me film did half a billion dollars in box office revenues. Every film in that series since has gone done right around a billion on their own. So I have a feeling K-pop Demon Hunters already announced second and third films are going to be gigantic when they arrive.
and the marketing partnerships and merchandise and promotional tie-ins are all going to be a big deal as well. I’m certain there’ll be Korean snack foods and instant ramen bowls available everywhere you go. And I’m also predicting there will be live concert tours with actual K-pop groups performing the music of Huntrix and the Saja Boys in costume. And there’ll be years and years of follow-up albums, mobile games, clothing lines, and yes, Halloween costumes for that year’s fans to buy to their heart’s content.
because it’s really hard to predict when something big is gonna hit, but getting ready for that next wave? Well, that’s just good marketing. I’m Sean in St. Louis, and thanks for listening to The Marketing Gateway. See you next time.
Sean Jordan (11:12.985)
Today’s plug is for your local library. And no, I’m not representing any library in particular. I’m telling you to head to yours and go check it out. You know, mine here in St. Louis has so many things you’d never assume a library has. They have books and magazines and newspapers and CDs and movies and audio books and things like that. But they also have video games and 3D printers and a media studio where you can create your own content and board games and telescopes and even
fishing rods and tackle boxes that you can check out to go fishing with. Mayan even started collecting and archiving local handmade zines from our local music and art scene here in St. Louis, which is pretty cool. They host community speakers, they offer public exhibits of interesting things, and even have online resources for all sorts of services you’d never think a library could offer. So you know what? Go check out your local library today. It’s probably the best resource you’re not using, and guess what? It’s probably free.
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