KPop Demon Hunters really is Golden.
The animated musical adventure has become a bona fide phenomenon since it debuted on Netflix during the summer, and has now officially emerged as the streamer's most popular movie of all time.
KPop amassed another 25.4 million views worldwide in the week of August 18-24, bringing its total to 236 million since its June 20 premiere, pushing it past Red Notice to claim first place on Netflix’s all-time rankings for English-language films.
Despite a mostly negative reception from critics, action comedy Red Notice, which stars Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, has held the No. 1 spot for the last three years. Demon Hunters, on the other hand, is sitting at a near-perfect 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
In a rare move, Netflix gave KPop Demon Hunters a theatrical release last weekend, and while the streamer has not disclosed official box office figures, sources say it was the highest-grossing movie of the weekend, taking in between $18M - $20M.
“We knew younger female audiences and K-pop [and] anime fans would love this film, but it’s been incredibly gratifying to see it embraced by an even broader audience and become a favorite film for both adults and kids,” Dan Lin, chairman of Netflix, film said in a recent interview. “Adults are watching the movie with their friends or other family members, kids are watching with their friends and siblings.”
Recent reports indicated that two sequels and a live-action remake are currently in various stages of development, and THR has now confirmed that Sony Pictures does plan to collaborate with Netflix for at least one more Kpop animated movie.
When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey aren't selling out stadiums or topping the Billboard charts, they're moonlighting as demon hunters to protect their fans from ever-present supernatural danger.