Two Of Last Year’s Best Movies Are Getting the Physical Media Release They Deserve
After a buzzy year for film, and amid an awards season that is already filled with twists and turns, two of 2025’s biggest movies are finally getting a physical media release.
On Monday, a report from Variety confirmed that both Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and KPop Demon Hunters will be joining the Criterion Collection. Both films were initially released as Netflix originals, with very limited theatrical runs and the overwhelming bulk of their viewership coming from streaming. Both films debuted to astronomical numbers on the platform, with KPop Demon Hunters earning the honor of being the platform’s most popular original film of all time. Both films are also currently in contention for this year’s Oscars, with Frankenstein nominated for a total of nine awards (including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Jacob Elordi) and KPop Demon Hunters nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.
Specific details around the Criterion releases of Frankenstein and KPop Demon Hunters aren’t known at this point, including specific release dates. Another del Toro film released through Netflix, 2022’s Pinocchio, was released on Criterion a little over a year after its initial debut, so a similar sort of time frame doesn’t seem impossible with either films here. Other Netflix films that have gotten Criterion releases also include Martin Scorcese’s The Irishman, Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, Jane Champion’s The Power of the Dog, and Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma.
There’s also the fun question of what special features will be available with Frankenstein and KPop Demon Hunters, as Criterion releases usually include a commentaries and a bunch of new or remastered supplemental material. Netflix’s behind-the-scenes documentary about the production of Frankenstein, Frankenstein: The Anatomy Lesson, feels like a no-brainer, and del Toro has teased on social media for months that certain deleted scenes would be available on the inevitable home release. There is no shortage of behind-the-scenes featurettes for KPop Demon Hunters as well… and maybe the singalong version that’s been streaming on Netflix for months will make it to the Criterion, too.
Hell Yeah, Criterion!
Criterion releases are more than just pretty cover art and a slightly-nicer shell case — they’re a physical, tangible testament to the artistry that went into the film. Each of the Criterion releases that are currently on my shelf feel definitive and important, whether I bought them to see a lovingly-crafted 4K remaster, to read an essay from a writer on a film that I already love, or to simply rewatch on a rainy day. They’re collector’s items, but they’re also keeping the art of media preservation alive, which feels all the more important in the streaming age.
For me, the fact that two of the biggest streaming hits in recent memory are joining the Criterion Collection would already be a cause for celebration: but I love that it’s these two films in particular. After the decades of work del Toro put into bringing Frankenstein to life, the finished product deserved to live on well beyond a tile on a streaming service.
And in a way, a Criterion release for KPop Demon Hunters felt inevitable… but I fully expected it years down the line, or at least long after a standard DVD release that would fly off the shelves at every big box retailer imaginable. The fact that the film is headed to Criterion from the jump delights me: not just because it further elevates the inventive work that went into making it, but because it genuinely might be the biggest movie in recent memory to be released in that format. It’s no secret that the audience around KPop Demon Hunters is massive, as evident by the laundry list of broken records and the mad dash for official merchandise. The idea of getting a copy of the film on DVD or Blu-ray is going to be appealing to a lot of people, especially for any parent whose child has watched it nonstop on Netflix.
When talking to my husband about this news, he joked that KPop Demon Hunters is going to be “baby’s first Criterion”… and honestly, I am so here for that. It destigmatizes the idea that the Criterion Collection is only for film buffs with a questionable amount of disposable income, and shows off how cool it is to preserve physical media on your shelf. If even a fraction of the KPop Demon Hunters audience buys a copy, likes what they see, and is motivated to start adding more Criterion titles to their personal collection, then that is a win on so many levels.
(featured image: Ken Woroner/Netflix)
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