Netflix Animated Film “KPop Demon Hunters” Ranks No. 1 in 93 Countries, Becoming a Global Cultural Phenomenon

The animated film “KPop Demon Hunters,” released by Netflix on June 20, has taken over the global music market. Centered on a K-pop girl group named HUNTR/X that fights evil spirits and a boy group called Saza Boys composed of demons, the film entered Netflix’s top 10 lists in 93 countries shortly after its release and has since accumulated over 160 million views. The film’s true impact was evident in its soundtrack. The OST track “Golden” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart, while four other songs—“Soda Pop,” “How It's Done,” and “Your Idol”—made it into the top 10. These are achievements even BTS and BLACKPINK, real K-pop groups, have not yet attained. On Spotify, HUNTR/X ranked second on the global female group chart, Saza Boys topped the U.S. chart, and the soundtrack remained at No. 1 on the UK chart for five consecutive weeks. It is unusual for an animated soundtrack to dominate charts so thoroughly. On the ARIA (Australia) charts, this soundtrack stayed at No. 1 for three weeks in a row, marking the best performance by an animated soundtrack since “Frozen”’s soundtrack in 2017. In the UK charts as well, weekly consumption continues to rise, with a week-on-week increase rate of 23.1%. Driven by this success, production of follow-up content is advancing rapidly. HYBE America and Paramount Pictures announced they are developing a new K-pop-themed film set for release in February 2027, with actress Yoo Ji-young, who voiced Joy—the Maknae of HUNTR/X—the main group in “KPop Demon Hunters”—teaming up with Eric Nam, who appeared in the Hollywood film “Transplant.” Filming for the movie is scheduled to begin in Korea in September. The film’s creators, director Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, described this seven-year project as a “love letter to Korean culture.” Director Kang stated that the work, based on K-pop and Korean traditional Musok culture, aimed to convey the message that “Korean culture has become truly outstanding and is now capable of having a global influence.” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO and president, emphasized during an earnings call “how successful the music has been and continues to be,” predicting that this will “drive the fandom we have for our fictional K-pop band.” This film is expected to become the largest animated project among Netflix’s original films.