Picture Credit: Netflix
Exactly one year ago, Netflix debuted Academy Award-winning animated fantasy musical Kpop Demon Hunters, and the film has been a runaway success ever since. The picture has single-handedly set a gold standard for Netflix movies and continues to push boundaries today. What are its biggest achievements? Here’s a complete breakdown and timeline of its success.
Released on Netflix a year ago on June 20, 2025, Kpop Demon Hunters quickly grew into an international phenomenon and the streamer’s most celebrated movie of all-time. Its viewership peaked in its eleventh week on the streamer, and it has now remained in Netflix’s Global Top 10 charts an entire year. It’s Netflix’s highest-ranking movie ever by quite some distance, leading the way ahead of all-star action movie Red Notice (#2) and airport-thriller Carry-On (#3), both of which don’t come close. The movie has garnered over 20 billion viewing minutes across its 52 weeks in the Top 10.
Produced in partnership with Sony Pictures Animation (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), Kpop Demon Hunters is helmed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. The movie follows K-Pop superstars Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong) and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo). When their illustrious careers begin to stall, and they fail to sell out stadiums or top the Billboard charts, they instead go undercover to protect their fans from supernatural dangers, taking on the role as demon hunters.
For parents of children and teenagers, the song Golden from the Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack has been stuck in our heads for the past year. While it’s undoubtedly the most recognisable track, the entire soundtrack has achieved double platinum status in the US. Or if the songs aren’t ever-present in your minds, you’ll be familiar with the HUNTR/X trio: Rumi, Mira and Zoey. Since becoming pop culture phenomenons, these characters have everything from Mattel and NERF toys, to LEGO sets and HASBRO games, to Funko Pops, and a McDonald’s collaboration. Even high-profile fashion retailers have dipped into the franchise, not least Zara.
And material collaborations are just one facet; Kpop Demon Hunters has expanded into media beyond the movie itself. This includes immersive Sing-Along screenings (an official Sing-Along version of the movie debuted on Netflix in August 2025), and various inspired tribute shows (including tours such as Planet K-pop and K-POP All Stars, which take heavy inspiration from the movie).
All in all, Kpop Demon Hunters is everything; it’s an awards darling, a publicity monster, a brand of immense value, and above all, a fantastic movie. How did it garner such unparalleled success? Here’s a timeline of how it got there.
Kpop Demon Hunters by the numbers: At a glance overview
KPOP DEMON HUNTERS – (L-R) Rumi (voice by ARDEN CHO), Zoey (voice by JI-YOUNG YOO) and Mira (voice by MAY HONG) . ©2025 Netflix
By this point, you don’t need us to tell you that Kpop Demon Hunters is the biggest movie in Netflix history — that accolade is secured, and looking at the numbers, it’s going to be in place for the foreseeable future. The movie boasts some unfathomable achievements, setting the bar to nigh-unattainable heights for streaming. How does this look in terms of numbers? Here’s an ‘at a glance’ overview:
- Kpop Demon Hunters has surpassed 600M views since its debut.
- The movie has reached the top 10 in every single country that Netflix ranks (93 countries in total).
- It has remained in the streamer’s Global Top 10 for movies for an entire year.
- The soundtrack has surpassed 15 billion streams worldwide, including two weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 chart.
A timeline of its biggest achievements and milestones.
Summer 2025: Kpop Demon Hunters releases and shoots up the charts.
In the week it opened in June 2025, Kpop Demon Hunters debuted to 9.2 million views — granted, it released later in the week therefore had less time to grow than Straw, which claimed top spot in the global charts. By its second week, the story was set in motion, claiming top spot with 24,200,000 views.
Viewership peaked on its eleventh week on the streamer, garnering an unparalleled 30.1 million views. After opening with such monumental success, Netflix released a Sing-Along version of Kpop Demon Hunters in theatres in August 2025. Following this theatrical run, it officially became the most popular film in Netflix history.
Fall/Winter 2025: Kpop Demon Hunters surpasses 500 million views and the soundtrack soars.
In October 2025, the Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack reached double platinum status in the US. To put that into perspective, other artists to reach the double platinum status include Ariana Grande, Rhianna, and SZA. According to a report from Kworb, Kpop Demon Hunters has accumulated over 6 billion total streams on Spotify; Golden takes up the bulk with over 1.77 billion streams alone.
Not long before the turn of the year, the movie surpassed 500 million views.
Spring 2026: Awards season arrives and Kpop Demon Hunters sweeps up.
In early 2026, with the arrival of all the big awards ceremonies, Kpop Demon Hunters cleaned up. Whether that’s through the Critics’ Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, or even the Oscars — it was triumphant at every turn.
At the Academy Awards 2026, it received two Oscars: Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song (for Golden). It also won for the same two categories at the Golden Globes 2026 and Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. In addition, it claimed 10 wins at the Annie Awards for: Best Animated Feature, Best Voice Acting in a Feature Production, Outstanding Achievement for Music, and Outstanding Achievement for Directing.
In March, Sony and Netflix officially announced that Kpop Demon Hunters would return for a sequel with original directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans returning.
Summer 2026: One-Year Anniversary celebrations begin
Netflix is pulling out all the stops for the one-year celebration of Kpop Demon Hunters. We’re covering everything here in our live blog of all the latest announcements, but some of the most notable highlights include special anniversary theatrical screenings, an all-new LEGO set, a Golden-inspired collection from Vans will be dropping later this summer, inspired Squishmallows, and more.
What’s next for Kpop Demon Hunters?
Like any successful movie, now that Netflix and Sony have struck gold, they’re going to keep the franchise on our screens for as long as possible. This includes a sequel from returning creators Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans.
“I feel immense pride as a Korean filmmaker that the audience wants more from this Korean story and our Korean characters,” Kang said when the sequel was announced. “There’s so much more to this world we have built, and I’m excited to show you. This is only the beginning.”
Kpop Demon Hunters 2 is currently in development at Netflix and Sony. It’s release is still quite some time away (achieving such a level of animation takes time, as Spider-Verse fans know all too well), but we estimate that the sequel will hit screens sometime in 2029. Right now, however, the first movie is still riding its wave — and still has not fallen out of Netflix’s Global Top 10 rankings.
The longevity of Kpop Demon Hunters is astounding.
