'KPop Demon Hunters' Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Title Ever... On Track to Cross 30 Billion Views

Netflix’s animated series 'KPop Demon Hunters' is rewriting streaming service history by achieving astonishing growth rates since its release on June 20. According to Netflix’s official Tudum forum, the series has currently accumulated 291.5 billion views, setting a new record under Netflix’s metric of counting total views over 91 days from release. This surpasses 'Squid Game Season 1' (265.2 billion views) and 'Wednesday Season 1' (252.1 billion views), making it the most-watched content in Netflix history when including both movies and series. The series exceeded 1 billion views just in its fifth week after release and reached its current view count by the tenth week. Industry experts believe it is highly likely to surpass 30 billion views by September 20—exactly 91 days after its release—making it the first Netflix content to reach this milestone. The series’ success extended beyond online platforms as well. Data from Spot, a music streaming service, shows that its soundtrack has achieved 1 billion streams globally over the past 90 days. In Australia, listeners aged 35–44 accounted for 35% of total listening time, followed by those aged 25–34 (31%), 18–24 (16%), and 45–54 (10%). K-pop streams increased by 54% over the past three months, with a strong fanbase forming in Australia’s top 10 cities. The series also made history in theatrical releases. Since theatrical screenings were required to qualify for Academy Award consideration, it premiered in North America for just two days. The results were revolutionary—Huntrix and Lion Boyz generated approximately 28 billion won in revenue during those two days, becoming the first OTT original film to top the box office. It will also be featured in a sing-along screening at the 30th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea. The significance of this film’s success goes beyond mere viewing numbers. Han Chang-wan, a professor in the Animation and Digital Media Department at Sejong University, proposed a symbiotic model between OTT platforms and theaters. He explained that "OTT subscribers can build their own content portfolios, allowing them to choose animations on par with movies and dramas," and added that "animations become more effective when combined with OTT platforms due to their appeal to the general public." Additionally, a new industrial structure is emerging where content proven successful online is redistributed to offline theaters. This is known as the 'O4O (Online for Offline)' strategy, which leverages online popularity to create offline experiences. 'KPop Demon Hunters' is regarded as a prime example of this strategy due to its sing-along feature, which enhances audience interaction.