Parents of young children already know this, but the summer’s big blockbuster isn’t an action-comedy reboot or the latest Spike Lee joint. It’s an animated K-pop musical about a girl group trying to save their fans’ souls. KPop Demon Hunters follows the trio Rumi, Mira, and Zoey of Huntr/x, whose voices help seal the barrier between the human world and the demon world. But a rival boy band of demons, the Saja Boys, works to steal their fans.
Since its release in late June, KPop Demon Hunters has become the most-watched Netflix animated movie ever, reaching the top ten in more than 90 countries. Over the weekend, Netflix hosted sing-along screenings at 1,700 theaters across the U.S., beating out Weapons at the box office. (Sorry, Zach Cregger!) The film raked in an estimated $18 million — making it the highest grossing Netflix movie to hit the box office, even though the streamer has been known to release films in theaters by auteurs such as Martin Scorsese and Noah Baumbach.
How did it become so popular? K-pop aficionados are the most formidable fans out there, and the film benefits from hunky characters (yes, there are thirst edits), a culturally specific story line, and an infectious soundtrack. “From the very beginning, KPop Demon Hunters unabashedly and seamlessly weaves Korean cultural elements — from myths and history to architecture, fashion, and music — into its storytelling, and it does so without fuss,” the Boston Globe’s Yoohyun Jung, a former skeptic, wrote. Parents have begrudgingly played it for their kids, only to find themselves screaming along to “Golden,” which currently sits at No. 2 on the “Billboard” charts. (Hitmakers for Blackpink and BTS worked on the soundtrack, and you can tell.) Hopefully, it will make the carpool line just a bit more bearable.
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