>>214270574
>they made more money selling the rights than they would make "streaming"
They actually fucked themselves over HARD
https://fortune.com/2025/08/27/kpop-demon-hunters-sony-netflix-rights-deal/
> Sony Pictures Animation, which spent $100 million creating the phenomenon, will reportedly net only $20 million owing to a pandemic-era distribution deal.
>According to Puck’s Matthew Belloni, Sony agreed to a “direct-to-platform” arrangement where Netflix would pay back the film’s production budget plus an additional fee capped at $20 million per project. In exchange, Netflix retained all rights to the property and owes no additional profit participation, even as the film becomes a massive hit. This wasn’t Sony shopping around a finished film; Netflix essentially funded the production while Sony handled the creative work.