Despite the ever-increasing size and dominance of Netflix, the streamer has continued to struggle with its most obvious aim. While viewers might flock there for smooth-brained dating shows, tawdry true crime, Harlan Coben thrillers and junky romcoms, the platform is yet to be known for creating original movie franchises, the bread and butter of most old-fashioned Hollywood studios, for better or worse.
The problem Netflix often faces is that to turn a big-budget bet into a cultural event, it requires more than a low-stakes click at home and a brief weekend’s worth of chatter. Big numbers might have met wannabe franchise-starters Red Notice and The Grey Man but a lack of real long-term interest has meant that sequels haven’t followed, while its most expensive film ever, the Chris Pratt vehicle The Electric State, sank with both audiences and critics. It’s why the success of last year’s KPop Demon Hunters, a genuine all-consuming juggernaut, was such an important win, even if the film technically started its life at Sony. A sequel is, of course, coming, although there always felt like something a little accidental about the first film’s transformation into pop culture phenomenon, as if no one quite knew just what they had on their hands.
