The Directors of 'Elio' and 'KPop Demon Hunters' Talk About the Reality of Selling Diverse Movies

In a recent Hollywood Reporter animation roundtable , KPop Demon Hunters filmmaker Maggie Kang and Elio co-director Domee Shi ( Turning Red ) discussed pushing for representation in a time when studios seem to be playing it safe with sequels. It’s a triumph when an original story like KPop Demon Hunters hits big. But original stories can also be mishandled behind the scenes, contributing to less-than-robust box office returns, as was seemingly the case with Elio .

Shi was brutally honest in talking about the Elio rollout. “From my experience making movies, making animated films is hard and a financial risk regardless of if they’re originals or sequels. Just because something is a sequel doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to be successful,” she said, with the added context