Stray Kids’ ascent from a self-producing rookie act to one of the most commercially dominant forces in global pop is now being translated to the big screen for Australian audiences with Stray Kids: The DominATE Experience. The concert documentary captures the scale, ambition and intensity of the group’s record-breaking Dominate World Tour, presenting it as a cinematic event rather than a conventional tour film.
Directed by Paul Dugdale, with documentary segments helmed by Farah X, Stray Kids: The DominATE Experience blends a full live performance with behind-the-scenes access and intimate interviews. The result is a hybrid film that places audiences inside the controlled chaos of a Stray Kids stadium show while also unpacking the creative machinery that has powered the group’s rise over the past eight years. For Australian fans, many of whom have followed the group through sold-out tours and chart-topping releases, the film functions as both spectacle and archive.
The timing of the film is significant. By the time The DominATE Experience arrives in cinemas, Stray Kids will have completed one of the most extensive global tours ever undertaken by a K-pop act, spanning Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and Latin America. The Dominate World Tour followed the release of Ate in 2024 and Karma in 2025, albums that extended the group’s unprecedented run of Billboard 200 debuts at number one. No other act has entered the US chart with their first eight releases at the top, a statistic that underlines why Stray Kids have become a case study in modern global pop.
The film also reflects the group’s unique internal structure. Formed by JYP Entertainment in 2017, Stray Kids were assembled in an unusually autonomous way, with leader Bang Chan personally selecting each member rather than the process being dictated by label executives. That decision shaped the group’s identity early. From their unofficial debut Mixtape through the I Am and Clé series, Stray Kids positioned themselves as outsiders within the idol system, artists determined to define their own sound and narrative.
Central to that identity is 3Racha, the in-house production unit made up of Bang Chan, Changbin and Han. Unlike many idol groups, Stray Kids have been deeply involved in songwriting and production since the beginning, a creative control that is emphasised throughout The DominATE Experience. The film traces how that autonomy translated into the abrasive, genre-hybrid sound that later became known as “mala taste”, a term adopted by the group to describe music that is deliberately intense, spicy and uncompromising.
Paul Dugdale’s direction leans into scale and precision. Known for translating large-scale concerts into cinematic language, Dugdale frames Stray Kids’ choreography and staging as architectural elements, while Farah X’s documentary segments slow the pace, focusing on the psychological and physical demands of sustaining a tour of this magnitude. Together, the approaches mirror the duality that has defined Stray Kids’ career, relentless performance energy balanced by introspection and self-analysis.
For Australian audiences, the film also reinforces the country’s place within Stray Kids’ touring history. Australia has been a recurring stop on their major world tours since Maniac, reflecting the strength of the group’s local fanbase. While The DominATE Experience is not specific to one city or show, it captures the communal intensity that has characterised Stray Kids’ Australian performances, where fan engagement often matches the ferocity of the stage production.
Beyond the music, the documentary contextualises Stray Kids within a broader cultural moment. Their evolution from survival-show contestants to Time-listed Next Generation Leaders and global festival headliners underscores how K-pop has shifted from niche export to mainstream force. Stray Kids’ appearance at events like the Met Gala, their soundtrack work for major Hollywood films, and their consistent chart dominance all feed into a narrative of cultural crossover that The DominATE Experience visualises rather than explains.
Ultimately, Stray Kids: The DominATE Experience is less about summarising a career than crystallising a moment. It captures a group operating at full capacity, artistically confident, commercially dominant and culturally visible, and presents that moment to Australian cinemas with the volume turned all the way up. For long-time fans it is a document of validation. For newcomers, it is an entry point into one of the most influential pop acts of the current era.
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first—Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow Noise11.com on social media:
Bluesky
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
