Even if you were someone who accidentally stumbled into a showing of Stray Kids : The Dominate Experience at an IMAX theater, by the end of it you’ll come away with either a K-pop catchy melody carved into your frontal lobe, a newfound respect for concert stagecraft, or a new and unnerving crush on at least one of the band’s members. Quite possibly all three. Whether you’re a new arrival on K-pop island, or own 263 photo cards and have an Instagram account devoted to Hyunlix theories, Stray Kids : The Dominate Experience delivers.
The real audience for this is the army of Stray Kids fans, known as Stay, and recognition of that is threaded through every song and soundbite. Stray Kids : The Dominate Experience is a concert movie meticulously put together from footage from the K-pop group’s 2025 SoFi stadium performances, together with short interviews with each of the eight members and just a dash of behind the scenes footage. It’s not a glimpse into the dark underbelly of the K-pop industry, there’s no grand narrative beyond “Stray Kids work really damn hard and it’s paying off,” and for anyone who says there’s not enough grit and too much polish, well, I like my diamonds to shine.
Whoever your bias is, you won’t be disappointed. My beloved Felix showcases his deeper than the Mariana Trench vocals and bares his soul, bias wrecker Hyunjin is saucier than a whole condiment aisle in a grocery store, Han continues to be cuter than a bucket of squirrels, and Lee Know and Seungmin’s Cinema performance is a standout moment. Someone in the otherwise well behaved screening audience couldn’t help but shout “daddy!” as Bang Chan talked about looking after the rest of the members, and there was an audible pained groan at one point while I.N was wearing a crop top. Each member spotlight is a mix of prepared gloss and earnestness that you don’t often see from Western groups, and that ultimately managed to disarm even this cynical Brit.
I’m not going to spoil the entire set list for anyone who hasn’t found it online (or was even lucky enough to see it live) but it’s the rollercoaster ride through the many moods and styles of SKZ you want it to be. Maniac and LALALALA were particular highlights, but I also got a new appreciation for some of the more neglected tracks on my personal Stray Kids Bangers playlist. Domino, I did you dirty and I apologize.
By the time the encore hit the IMAX theater I was watching in, it was hard to differentiate the cheers and singing from screen to seat. The front rows got up and danced, and the light sticks were brandished with pride like a sword salute to a beloved general. Even if you think this is just a masterclass in marketing for the upcoming tours for Karma, then well played, because I am now willing to commit actual felonies to secure tickets to one of their North American shows.
Stray Kids : The Dominate Experience arrives in theaters on February 6.
Rachel Weber is the Head of Editorial Development at IGN and an elder millennial. She’s been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, Red Dead Redemption 2, and her Love and Deepspace boyfriends.
