‘Kpop Demon Hunters’ becomes Netflix’s most viewed movie of all time
Netflix’s new animated musical, Kpop Demon Hunters, has become its most-viewed movie of all time on the platform.
The animated show follows K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey, who double as chart-topping musicians and demon hunters fighting against various (and copious) supernatural threats. Voice actors include Arden Cho, Liza Koshy and Maggie Kang.
Since its unassuming launch in June, the film has been watched more than 236 million times. This means that it now holds the record for most-viewed Netflix movie of all time, overtaking the action comedy Red Notice.
In early July, the show broke another record. The song ‘Your Idol’ by Saja Boys, a boy band in the film, topped the US Spotify chart. Saja Boys subsequently became the highest charting male K-pop group in US Spotify history. Not even K-pop kings BTS can compete.
Elsewhere, the track ‘Golden’ made it to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
This success was intentional. Kang, the Korean-Canadian co-director of the film, had shared that there was a real focus on the quality of the music in the show, as they aimed to make the songs “really incredible and really speak to the K-pop fans and be legitimately fit into the K-pop space.”
In reaction to the unexpected popularity, Netflix released a sing-along version of Kpop Demon Hunters in cinemas in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand in mid-August. Consequently, Netflix bagged its first number one film at the US box office.
Other films in Netflix’s most-viewed list include the 2024 thriller Carry-On starring Taron Egerton, followed by 2021’s Don’t Look Up, 2022’s The Adam Project starring Ryan Reynolds, and 2018’s Bird Box starring Sandra Bullock and John Malkovich.
Discussions surrounding a sequel to the animated show are reportedly in the early stages, with fans already eager for more.
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