How KPop Demon Hunters became one of Netflix's biggest hits
What is KPop Demon Hunters?
The 99-minute PG-rated movie was released on Netflix on June 20 to little fanfare, but since then, it has experienced snowballing popularity. The three-word synopsis of the title tidily sums up the plot, which follows three young women, Rumi, Mira and Zoey, of fictional K-pop girl group HUNTR/X (pronounced Huntrix).
The trio also moonlight as demon hunters with the ultimate aim of sealing off the demon realm and its king Gwi-Ma from humankind. They're close to defeating the soul-sucking monsters until Jinu, a resident of the underworld, comes up with the genius idea of the Saja Boys, a demon boy band with floppy hair and rock-hard abs designed to win over HUNTR/X's fans and steal their spirits.
Who's behind it?
Maggie Kang, who co-directed it with Chris Appelhans. Born in Seoul and raised in Toronto, Kang told Variety the film is 'my love letter to K-pop and my Korean roots'. It took seven years from Kang's original pitch until it hit screens, with Kang describing it as her passion project. The film is also her directorial debut after she had worked in the animation departments on Minions: The Rise of Gru, The Croods: A New Age, The Lego Ninjago Movie and Trolls.
Who's in it?
The voice talent in the cast includes Partner Track 's Arden Cho as Rumi, Lost' s Yunjin Kim as former demon hunter Celine, Hawaii Five-0' s Daniel Dae Kim as a dodgy healer, Squid Game' s Lee Byung-hun as Gwi-Ma, The Hangover' s Ken Jeong as HUNTR/X's manager and Fire Island 's Joel Kim Booster in multiple roles.
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Why has it become so big?
The film was released by Netflix and produced by Sony Pictures Animation, so part of the answer might lie in Sony's pedigree as it was behind the similarly visually impressive, critically acclaimed 2023 movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Being on Netflix also means that, unlike an expensive cinema outing, the film can be rewatched by kids, which is why it has become a word-of-mouth hit across playgrounds globally.
Hang on, isn't animation struggling?
Interestingly, KPop Demon Hunters is something of an anomaly, especially with much discussion about the death of original animation after Pixar's Elio flopped at the box office this year. The animated films that have succeeded are sequels, live-action remakes or existing intellectual properties, such as Inside Out 2, the new Lilo & Stitch and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The fact the fresh plot of KPop Demon Hunters is being rewarded with eyeballs is certainly something to cheer about.
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Is it worth all the fuss?
Yes! For such a ridiculous sounding premise, incredibly well executed, pulling off the near-impossible Bluey -esque trick of being good fun for parents and adults to watch with legitimately funny quips peppered throughout. And forget the usual animated Disney princesses, the snack-loving, couch-adoring Rumi, Mira and Zoey are a breath of fresh air, managing to be simultaneously fierce, goofy and imperfect.
And while KPop Demon Hunters functions perfectly as an action-packed, monster-slaying romp, it also has a deeper message about fighting inner demons and negative self-talk through unconditional friendship and self-acceptance. Not a bad message to be sneaking into the brains of tweens and older children.
What do critics think?
It holds an impressive 97 per cent fresh rating on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, with The New York Times calling it 'an original universe that is charming, funny and artfully punchy'.
What's the music like?
Incredibly catchy, so catchy it's utterly believable that it's the work of demons wanting to take over humankind.
The big hit Golden (basically the Let It Go -size breakout song from the movie) is sitting at No.1 on the ARIA single chart, while the soundtrack is at No.1 on the album chart, with Australia the first market globally to hit that double No.1 for the movie's music. In total, a whopping seven of the top 20 tracks on ARIA's singles chart currently come from the film's soundtrack.
Internationally, the soundtrack has topped the Billboard Global 200 and even copped a David Guetta remix.
Considering how much of a chokehold K-pop has on popular music, with groups such as Blackpink and BTS, the soundtrack's success is no surprise. KPop Demon Hunters smartly recruited talent directly from that world for the film's original tracks, with contributions from hit-making songwriters Teddy Park, Lindgren, Jenna Andrews and Ejae (who also serves as the singing voice of Rumi). Popular K-pop girl group Twice also recorded their version of HUNTR/X's banger Takedown.
Will there be a sequel?
While nothing has yet been officially announced, it's unthinkable there won't be some more juice to squeeze from a hit this big. Netflix has already been rolling out KPop Demon Hunters merch on its online store, with everything from HUNTR/X hoodies and Saja Boys badges, to a replica of the train and teddy-emblazoned pyjama pants Jinu mocks Rumi for wearing (they'll only run you a cool $117).
And the movie's legion of fans will be pleased to hear Kang seems very open to the idea of expanding the KPop Demon Hunters universe. In an interview with ScreenRant, she said she was 'always' thinking of sequel ideas. 'There are always side stories, and there are things we've thought of while making this one,' she said. 'There are a lot of questions that are answered, but not fully. I think there are a lot of pockets that we can explore.'
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