Photo Credit: Netflix
Netflix’s ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ becomes the most-watched original animated film on the platform, racking up 106.1 million views in a month.
“KPop Demon Hunters” is smashing records, becoming the most-watched original animated film on Netflix, according to the streaming platform in a social media post on Wednesday. The musical fantasy film has accrued 106.1 million views since its release on June 20.
The news comes just after “Golden,” a song from the movie’s soundtrack from fictional girl group HUNTR/X, regained its #1 spot on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. US charts. The track topped both charts two weeks ago.
Moreover, the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack is the highest-charting soundtrack of 2025—eight of its songs have landed on the Billboard Hot 100, and it peaked at #2 on the all-genre Billboard 200. That puts it head to head with Lorde’s Virgin and Justin Bieber’s Swag.
And it’s no coincidence that the film and its music are resonating so well with fans. The project utilizes some of the top dogs in the genre, including a partnership with K-pop company The Black Label, co-founded by producer powerhouse Teddy Park. Park is best known for his work with YG, Blackpink, and 2NE1, K-pop girl groups used as references for the film’s animated protagonists.
Maggie Kang, a director on the film, said her team prioritized “representing the fandom and the idols in a very specific way” in order not to disappoint fans of the genre. Kang’s approach also focused on cultural authenticity.
“We just wanted everybody to just accept that they were in Korea,” she said, explaining that this method of “throwing people into the deep end of a culture,” helps break down barriers. Such storytelling aids immersion much more than a heavy-handed explanation. “If you don’t shine a light on it, it just becomes more easily accepted.”
One longtime K-pop fan, San Diego-based freelance illustrator Zabrinah Santiago, said she was initially skeptical of the film’s title. “I feel like with big companies they kind of like to use K-pop as bait. They kind of like to take advantage of K-pop fans’ sincerity,” said Santiago. “But I felt like, with [‘KPop Demon Hunters’], it was such […] a love letter to K-pop fans.”
It’s important that the film is chock-full of Easter eggs and in-jokes for K-pop fans, remaining true to the fan experience. “Fandom plays a huge part in the world being saved at the end of the movie,” said Kang. “So we were really confident that we were doing [fandom] justice.”
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.