The Business of KPop Demon Hunters

This week we are joined by journalist and cultural commentator Sam Sanders, of the Sam Sanders Show, to unpack the lessons Hollywood is learning from its latest unexpected success: mega-viral sensation Kpop Demon Hunter. We discuss how Sony lost out on much of the movie's profits when it signed over the rights to Netflix–though arguably helped preserve its business during the Covid downturn by doing so–and how the success of KPop Demon Hunters at least partly vindicates Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos’ controversial claim that the experience of going to a movie theater is “outdated.” Sanders mostly agrees, suggesting that the theatrical experience will essentially go the way of opera–once a wildly popular medium that eventually settled into a narrow and extremely rarified niche. The songs are good too.

We’re also joined by Odd Lots co-host Joe Weisenthal to fact check President Trump’s claim that the “stock market needs tariffs and ask college students about their AI habits as they head back to school. And, finally, we explain why, love them or hate them, tariffs are making your Pumpkin Spice Latte (not to mention any pumpkin spice cat litter you happen to buy this fall) more expensive.

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