Netflix’s new most popular movie helps to further set up Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse for success. While Spider-Man’s Marvel movie lineup has generally been blessed with immense success over the years, positive reception to the Spider-Verse movies still wasn’t guaranteed.
Instead, it was the talent and effort that went into making both Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse that made the series land well with audiences. Helpfully, one recent Netflix hit suggests belief in Sony’s animated movies may now be at an all-time high in the build-up to Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse‘s release.
The Immense Success Of Netflix’s Latest Film Hit Is Huge For Sony’s Next Spider-Verse Movie
Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse has been the subject of some considerable delays, with the animated Spider-Man movie first intended to release in 2024, before being delayed all the way to its current June 25, 2027 release date. However, Sony has had one enormous hit since then.
While 2025 fantasy smash-hit KPop Demon Hunters is distributed by Netflix – where it’s become Netflix’s most-watched movie of all time – the film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation, who are also notably behind the Spider-Verse films.
There are plenty of visual similarities between the sleek and gripping art and animation styles of the two franchises, as noted by many reviewers – as well as a shared focus on character-driven stories that help the respective worlds feel relatable to viewers even as they explore ancient demons and web-swinging multiversal heroes.
The success of KPop Demon Hunters is immense and undeniable, with the film doing so well that Netflix has even released the movie in cinemas. Despite K-Pop Demon Hunters being available on streaming, the film’s cinematic release has already garnered millions in its box office, speaking to its popularity and its resonance with audiences.
Trust in and excitement for Sony Animated Pictures projects has arguably been stoked tenfold by the success of KPop Demon Hunters, getting more eyes on and hype for the final release in the Spider-Verse trilogy once again. Hopefully, this will pay dividends for the already successful trilogy upon Beyond The Spider-Verse‘s impending release.
KPop Demon Hunters’ Success Further Proves A Lesson Marvel, Sony & Netflix Need To Learn
KPop Demon Hunters‘ success mirrors the Spider-Verse’s own in a lot of ways. With gripping stories, immediately endearing characters, and a look at fantastical worlds that embrace the moral lesson that anyone can be a hero in a way that feels genuine and heartfelt, it’s easy to see why all of these films have been so well-received critically.
While KPop Demon Hunters‘ cinematic results are currently smaller, it’s also worth noting that the Spider-Verse movies have thus far netted themselves not inconsiderable commercial success alongside their critical acclaim, with their combined box offices coming to over $1 billion.
Combined with KPop Demon Hunters‘ 97% Rotten Tomatoes score and the overnight building of its pá´€ssionate fanbase, it’s clear there’s a huge market for animated movies that is arguably underutilized by Marvel, Sony and Netflix themselves historically.
Though it makes sense that the majority of Marvel’s movies are live-action – given they’re usually set in the MCU, which is almost entirely live-action-based – it’s clear further exploration into animated stories can work well so long as they hit all the marks. Similarly, Netflix’s approach to animated movies – often having them as a seeming lesser priority – is clearly challenged here.
Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse Could Easily Be The Biggest Spider-Verse Movie Yet
KPop Demon Hunters being a streaming movie that managed to be such a smash hit that it became an overnight sensation – and then proved it could hold this status enough that it was decided the film warranted a later cinematic release – shows that Sony Pictures Animation’s ability to produce gems has by no means dulled over the years.
Though there’s certainly a lot riding on Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse‘s success – since it ideally needs to be a fitting end to one of the most wide-reaching superhero movie stories of all time – the way in which audiences got behind KPop Demon Hunters bodes particularly well for how the pre-established Spider-Verse fanbase may show up for the trilogy’s finale.
During the past decade or so since the Spider-Verse film line first began, the movie landscape has featured many other notably successful examples of animated movies that are aimed at broader audiences versus being more child-focused – like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train‘s $500 million worldwide box office results.
As such, things are positioned in a potentially majorly fortuitous way. Belief in Sony Pictures Animation is set to be higher than ever, bolstering the hopes people had for the Spider-Verse movies to prospective new heights – and potentially even encouraging more people to give the franchise a try.
As it stands, while it doesn’t seem Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse strictly needed a bonus push to see it garner immense success, the popularity of KPop Demon Hunters certainly paints a picture for the future that suggests the time might be well and truly ripe for another Spider-Verse movie.
