KPop Demon Hunters is now Netflix’s most-watched movie ever surpassing Red Notice, sequel in the works

Adding to its appeal, KPop Demon Hunters features original soundtracks from some of the most renowned K-pop idols and solo artists in the industry, making it a full sensory experience. The film boasts four songs in Billboard’s Top 10, with the track “Golden” reclaiming the No 1 spot. The release of a sing-along version, which received a limited theatrical run, generated an additional $17 million at the box office, cementing the film’s status as a full-blown pop culture phenomenon.

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The movie, produced by Sony Pictures Animation, was released in June with a relatively low-key premiere at Netflix’s Tudum Theatre in Los Angeles. However, its momentum built steadily over the summer, propelled by word of mouth and viral social media videos and memes.

Despite its success, KPop Demon Hunters has sparked controversy. Some Chinese netizens expressed outrage, accusing the film of plagiarism and cultural appropriation. According to the Korean media outlet Chosun Biz, critics targeted the use of visuals such as “traditional knots, herbal medicine, tiger motifs, and architectural styles.” On the Chinese platform Douban, comments like “Korea doesn’t hide its theft,” “Sony is helping Korea,” and “Why are you mixing Chinese elements into Korean culture?” flooded the discussion. In response, Korean netizens pushed back, highlighting the widespread illegal streaming of Korean shows like Squid Game, The Glory, and When Life Gives You Tangerines, raising serious concerns about copyright infringement.

As the film continues to grow in popularity, Sony and Netflix are already in talks for a sequel. Maggie Kang, who co-directed the film alongside Chris Appelhans, expressed her eagerness to explore the story further. Speaking to Variety, Kang said, “We’ve set up so much for potential backstory. Obviously, there’s a lot of questions that are left unanswered and areas that are not explored, and we had to do that because there’s only so much movie you could tell in 85 minutes. This was Rumi’s story, and we have backstories for Zoey and Mira, ones that we actually put in the movie, but it just kind of rejected it. It just wasn’t the movie for those stories.”