Netflix Animation “K-pop Demon Hunters” Dominates Global Music Charts

Netflix’s original animation “K-pop Demon Hunters” has continued to achieve massive global success since its release on June 20. The film has accumulated over 56 million views and made it into the Netflix Top 10 Movies list in 93 countries. It received a high rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and is regarded as the biggest animated hit of the year. This success extended to the music sector as well. The song “Golden,” performed by the K-pop girl group HUNTR/X, topped both the Billboard Global 200 and the Billboard Global Exclusives US charts. “Golden” recorded 6.77 billion streams (a 40% increase from the previous week) and 6,000 units sold (a 27% increase from the prior week). HUNTR/X also became the first virtual band to star as the main characters in a film, dominating global charts. The soundtrack for “K-pop Demon Hunters” set a record by rising consecutively for three weeks on the Billboard 200 album chart. It climbed from 8th place in its first week to 3rd in the second week and then to 2nd in the third week, achieving 75,000 equivalent album units during that period. This was the first time since “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” in 2017 that an album saw rising sales in both its second and third weeks. Among soundtracks that entered the top 2 of the Billboard 200 in the 2020s, only “K-pop Demon Hunters,” “Wicked” (2nd in 2024), “Bobby” (2nd in 2023), and “Encanto” (1st for 9 weeks in 2022) have achieved such consecutive sales growth. The streaming power of the soundtrack is equally impressive. It recorded 9.633 billion streams in the third week, marking the highest streaming week for a soundtrack in over three years. The previous record was set by “Encanto” on March 12, 2022, with 10.116 billion streams. Two songs by the male demon band “Lion Boys” from the film also made it into the global chart top 10. “Your Idol” rose sharply from 10th to 3rd on the Global 200 and from 15th to 5th on the Global Exclusives US chart, while “Soda Pop” climbed from 13th to 6th and from 17th to 7th respectively. The success of the film stems from its meticulous storytelling combined with a perfect integration of K-pop culture. It depicts the HUNTR/X members (Rumi, Mira, Joy) protecting the human world from evil spirits behind the dazzling stages. The ending reveals Rumi’s identity as a half-demon during a live performance, leading to a confrontation with the evil king Gui Ma. Amidst this dramatic twist, Rumi’s colleague Jinwoo transfers his soul to her to help HUNTR/X restore the barrier between worlds. The story concludes with Rumi accepting her identity and the group reuniting, but Jinwoo’s fate remains uncertain, leaving the door open for a sequel. The production team also expressed strong interest in making a sequel. Co-director Maggie Kang said, “We established a huge amount of backstory. There are far more unanswered questions and unexplored areas than can be covered in 85 minutes. This was Rumi’s story, and there are also backstories for Joy and Mira that weren’t addressed in this film.” Co-director Chris Applehanes added, “Since we had to fit so much into 85 minutes, there are still many unanswered questions and numerous possibilities left.” Voice actress Jiyoung Yu (who voices Joy) said, “To be honest, I’d be a bit disappointed if there’s no sequel,” while Aiden Cho (who voices Rumi) stated, “I’d feel sad without a sequel.” Thanks to the passion of the creators and the enthusiasm of the cast, “K-pop Demon Hunters” has evolved from just a successful film into a global pop culture phenomenon.