“KPop Demon Hunters” became the most watched film in Netflix’s history on Wednesday.

The animated film blending the world of K-pop and Korean shamanism has racked up 236 million views since its release, surpassing the previous record held by the action thriller “Red Notice” (2021) with 230.9 million views, according to Netflix’s official companion site Tudum on Wednesday.


Including both films and shows, “KPop Demon Hunters” now ranks third overall on Netflix’s all-time chart, behind season one of “Squid Game” (2021-) with 265.2 million views and season one of “Wednesday” (2022-) with 252.1 million. Netflix’s rankings are based on total views in the first 91 days after release.

Released on June 20, “KPop Demon Hunters” still has about three weeks left before the 91-day tally ends, suggesting it could surpass “Wednesday” and even “Squid Game.”

Now in its 10th week since release, “KPop Demon Hunters” also topped Netflix’s global weekly film chart — across both English and non-English categories — for the week of Aug. 18 to 24. It held the No. 1 spot in 32 countries, including the United States, Britain and Canada.

International media outlets have also taken note, calling the film a new benchmark for Netflix. U.S. women’s magazine Glamour wrote that “KPop Demon Hunters” has become one of Netflix’s most successful original films, crediting its themes of self-acceptance and imperfection for resonating deeply with young women around the world.

"Netflix has always wanted to beat Disney — now it has the chance to try and prove it can match the Mouse House's franchise development," said Brandon Katz, the insights and content strategy director at entertainment data provider Greenlight Analytics, in a Business Insider article on the success of the Netflix film.

The “KPop Demon Hunters” craze is also reflected in the popularity of its original soundtrack. “Golden,” performed by the fictional group HUNTR/X in the film, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on Monday — its second time topping the chart after first doing so on Aug. 11. The song was performed by real-life singers Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami and EJAE.

The story of “KPop Demon Hunters” centers on the K-pop girl group HUNTR/X who protect the world from evil spirits through music. The film has been praised for weaving Korean cultural elements throughout its narrative.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]