‘Kpop Demon Hunters’ fans angry at BAFTA snub: “The disrespect”
“BAFTA’s Film Committee bunch of old-ass haters"
by Victoria Luxford · NMEKPop Demon Hunters fans have reacted angrily at the news that the film will be ineligible for a BAFTA.
The Netflix animated movie about a K-Pop group who lead a double life as demon hunters has become one of the cultural hits of the year. However, Variety have reported that the film will be ineligible for any category in the film awards given that the film was not in cinemas long enough to qualify.
The streaming giant appealed the decision, arguing that the film’s release in cinemas over one weekend in August qualified it for an exemption as ‘event cinema’. However, BAFTA ruled that the film had not been screened enough, as they require “at least 10 commercial screenings in the U.K. for at least seven days in aggregate.”
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to the news, directing their anger at BAFTA for the decision. “Silly. It should win song or score for sure” said one user. “For a streaming movie I’ve seen it twice in theatres and a lot of others did too.”
Another fan described it as “bullshit and unacceptable”, while another simply commented: “The disrespect.” One went further, writing: “BAFTA’s Film Committee bunch of old-ass haters lol.”
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Netflix has always been resistant to give their original movies traditional cinema releases, which has been a source of irritation for both fans and stars such as Knives Out lead Daniel Craig.
However, one comment felt that KPop Demon Hunters shouldn’t suffer for that sentiment. “Sure I would love to see more movies get theatrical releases” they wrote. “That being said it feels kind of shit for the BAFTAs to say this can’t be considered on the same level as inferior movies like Elio because it was on Netflix.”
The good news for the film’s supporters is that it will qualify for Oscar consideration, as it had been screened in the right amount of US cinemas to be eligible. “I predict it will win two Oscars and that ‘Golden’ is a def” said a fan, referring to the hit song from the movie.