Earlier on January 1, Netflix released an official statement titled “‘Squid Game 2’ Revenue Expectations Are Not True”, stating, “Netflix, as a subscription-based service, does not generate additional revenue based on individual content’s viewership or watch hours. It is impossible to calculate profits based on the success of a single work.”
Netflix operates on a subscription model where members pay a fixed monthly fee for unlimited access to all content. Therefore, it cannot calculate individual work revenues like box office earnings or VOD sales figures.
Additionally, Netflix emphasized that it does not evaluate individual projects based on financial performance and does not provide official information to facilitate such evaluations. The company expressed concern that erroneous analyses and claims could mislead the public regarding its operational model.
Previously, media research institute K-EnterTechHub revealed an analysis comparing the performance of “Squid Game” Seasons 1 and 2.
Squid Game season 1 reportedly earned about 1 trillion KRW in revenue with a production cost of 25 billion KRW, achieving a staggering 40x return on investment, which garnered significant attention in the global content market. The production cost of Season 2 is said to be around 100 billion KRW.
“Squid Game” Season 2 premiered on December 26th, 2024, and already surpassed the record for most viewers in the first week of release set by Season 1. According to Netflix’s official site ‘Netlflix Top 10’ on January 1st, “Squid Game 2” had accumulated 486,6 million hours of viewing time in the 4th week of December (from the 23rd to the 29th). Therefore, it became the most-viewed content on Netflix in the first week of release.
According to Netflix’s content news website “Tudum”, “Squid Game 2” also topped the non-English TV Show rankings in 92 countries with 68 million views recorded in the 4th week of December. The series placed No.1 in various countries, including the US, France, Japan, India, Australia, etc. FlixPatrol also highlighted that Season 1 took eight days to achieve a perfect score (930 points) in 93 countries, whereas Season 2 reached this milestone at a much faster pace. Based on this, there have been predictions that Season 2’s revenue could reach at least 1.5 trillion KRW.
Han Jung-hoon, CEO of K-EnterTechHub, told Yonhap News, “Although it may not match the profitability of Season 1, we can still expect a return of at least 10 times the production cost.” He shared, “With the production cost of 25 billion won, Season 1 earned about 1 trillion won in profits. Considering the speed of Season 2 surpassing Season 1’s record of 8 days, it is estimated that Season 2’s revenue will be at least 1.5 trillion won”. He also highlighted additional benefits such as Netflix’s rising stock price, new subscriber acquisitions, and the continued significance of South Korea in Netflix’s global content strategy.
Some predict that Season 2 could surpass the profits of Season 1. This analysis draws from cases where other Netflix hits like “Stranger Things” saw profit maximization from Season 3 onward due to subscriber retention, new user growth, merchandising, and themed attractions.
Meanwhile, Netflix is set to release “Squid Game” Season 3 this year, promising continued global success.
A teaser poster and short video for “Squid Game 3” were also unveiled.
On January 1, Netflix shared through its official SNS “Younghee and Cheolsu. The games of childhood innocence never end. ‘Squid Game’ Season 3, coming in 2025, only on Netflix” along with a short video.
The accompanying video featured Younghee, the iconic doll from the first season’s “Red Light, Green Light” game, along with her partner Cheolsu, raising expectations for the upcoming season’s storyline.
