MOVIE NEWS – The Korean press can’t stop celebrating the global success of the concert film Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience: the production hit No. 1 and has remained among the top box-office titles in the countries where it has opened, signalling a genuine worldwide breakthrough. But Korean outlets also stress that this is not just another K-pop victory – with this concert film, a new genre milestone has been set. Much of that comes from the project’s hybrid nature: a collaboration between two directors who bring different perspectives that ultimately fuse into a creative synthesis.

Paul Dugdale, who handled the concert footage, set out to translate the sheer scale of Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium and the energy of the crowd onto the big screen. His aim was for moviegoers to feel as if they were sitting in the front row of the vast venue and to experience the monumental show Stray Kids deliver. By contrast, Farah X, who directed the documentary segments, wanted to foreground the human element. She takes viewers backstage to reveal the real personalities and vulnerability of the eight-member group, shedding light on the inner struggles that fans (the STAYs) may not have known.

Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience becomes a memorable production, The Korea Herald argues, because the directors did not want to make “just” a concert film – they also set out to tell an engaging story. The paper cites Farah X, who emphasizes that she wanted audiences to understand what truly drives the members, what sacrifices they make for success, and how they handle the immense pressure on them. The goal was that by the end, the audience would feel closer to Bang Chant, Felix and the others not only as adored pop stars, but also as vulnerable human beings.

(Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience – Movie release: March 12, 2026.)

Source: UIP Dunafilm