KPop Demon Hunters 2 directors to make a fortune from massive Netflix deal

A rare case of the creatives winning big

Hollywood journo Matthew Belloni has unearthed details of the deal Netflix struck for the sequel to KPop Demon Hunters, and it turns out the movie's directors and co-writers, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, are set for a massive payday. Netflix will pay the pair about $50 million between them over five years, and grant them shares of merchandising and music revenue, too.

Nobody knew that KPop Demon Hunters would be the massive phenomenon it turned out to be. This meant that Netflix got it at a bargain price, paying production studio Sony Pictures Animation a modest $20 million for the rights. But it also meant that neither Sony nor Netflix had thought to put options for a sequel into Kang and Appelhans' contracts, giving them huge leverage when negotiations started for the new movie.

Kang and Appelhans are exclusive to Netflix for the next five years as they make the film, and together will be paid a guaranteed $10 million a year over that time. Their share of merchandising sales starts now — just in time for that McDonald's collab — and they'll get a royalty share on music for the sequel. (Belloni says "a murderer’s row of K-pop artists" is jostling to be part of the new movie.) They'll also help manage the franchise, consulting on merch and spinoffs like a mooted concert tour.

Creative control and a big bag of money; it's the dream. Kang and Appelhans are the big winners, but Sony Pictures Animation gets a healthy payday, too. The studio gets $40 million for the sequel, plus a $20 million retroactive bonus for the success of the first movie, and performance-related bonuses on the sequel.

It's only fair that Netflix has had to shell out, and the streaming giant likely still considers it a good deal. KPop Demon Hunters is an Oscar-winning global sensation, the most-watched movie on its service by a mile, and a breakout hit that, in terms of quality and audience size, measures up to any recent production by the animation giant (and Netflix's streaming rival) Disney. It's also that rarest of things: a completely original movie that can outperform the top franchises.

Not coincidentally, it's also great. I don't know if it would have been possible for Sony and Netflix to move forward on a sequel without Kang and Appelhans; Kang, for one, had other offers and was reportedly considering walking away from the negotiations. But it's to Netflix's credit that it chose not to, and to pony up for the key talent. KPop Demon Hunters is the success it is not because of its simple, fun premise, but because of Kang and Appelhans' perfect command of its goofy-but-emotional tone, its sharp visual identity, its cultural references, and the way its smash-hit songs sit within its narrative. A sequel without them would be unthinkable.

It's not so often that the creative team responsible for a smash-hit movie gets to share so directly in its success, especially in animation. That's something to celebrate.