A legitimate out-of-nowhere phenomenon from Netflix and Sony has proven that films still have a place in the monoculture.
It has been a strange year for Hollywood. The backbone of the industry for the last decade, tentpole superhero films, continues to have sluggish returns, despite two cape-films (Thunderbolts* and Superman) having notably positive reviews. There has only been one billion dollar grossing American film (Disney’s Lilo and Sitch remake), which had led to some concerned hangwringing due to China’s Ne Zha 2 more than doubling that number.
There has been some good news however. Zootopia 2 is seeming on track to also do fairly well, potentially outgrossing Ne Zha 2 globally. And while outside the top ten grossers, Sinners was a bonafide box office and culturally hit, becoming a major cultural cinematic moment earlier this year. But none of these stories punctured the zeitgeist quite in the same way as what one could argue is the most important film of 2025: KPop Demon Hunters.
For those that have somehow escaped its cultural grip, KPop Demon Hunters is a film about Huntr/x, a K-Pop idol band that is also…well, demon hunters. Specifically they are the latest in a long tradition of demon hunters who use the literal power of song to keep the forces of the evil Gwi-Ma at bay. The core of the story deals with Huntr/x facing their hardest challenge yet: a new demon boy band who attempt to steal their fans, and unleash the forces of Gwi-Ma on earth.
Kpop Demon Hunters was first conceived of by co-director Maggie Kang in 2018, and was created at the Canadian studios of Sony Pictures Imageworks. Because of a deal that Sony and Netflix made in 2021 (in the midst of figuring out releasing films during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic), Netflix has first refusal rights to any Sony Pictures animated films outside the lauded Lord and Miller productions. Netflix also paid for portions of the production of these animated films in this time frame.
The bulk of these films came out in 2021. The most successful was The Mitchells vs. the Machines, but also included the Lin-Manuel Miranda as a monkey film Vivo, and Wish Dragon, which came from KDH co-director Chris Applehans. All of these films fell into the category of good to great, but outside of Katie Mitchell becoming an avatar for film-obsessed weirdo, none became an especially visible cultural phenomenon.
Earlier this year, Netflix started to advertise KPop Demon Hunters, highlighting the link between it and the animation studio (very loosely) attached to the Spider-Verse films. And the comparison was easy to see: both can boast a dynamic art style, high-octane action sequences, and an irreverent sense of humor. It is fair to say that there was a sense of anticipation for the film, but it seemed to be on the level as the previous Sony/Netflix partnerships.
Then something happened. The film almost immediately garnered a huge fan following, buoyed by its chart-topping soundtrack and rapidly becoming the most-streamed film in Netflix’s history. A fan community sprung up overnight, campaigning and plotting to see how long it could keep the film in the top spot of Netflix’s weekly top ten films. It briefly fell off when other high profile films arrived, such as Happy Gilmore 2, but would quickly reclaim the top spot. As of writing, it is still sitting at #2, despite coming out in June. Gilmore 2 is out of the top ten. KPDH has been in the top ten uninterrupted for 17 weeks, typically in the first or second slot. For a while, its “Sing Along” version held another spot in the top ten, though it fell out.
All of this led to a considerable amount of discussion about how both Sony and Netflix missed out on money by not releasing the film in theaters. So to rectify that, Netflix released the film’s Sing Along cut in theaters in collaboration with Cinemark, Drafthouse and other theater chains for one weekend. Notably AMC didn’t participate due to their longstanding refusal to release Netflix films in theaters unless they have a designated, multiple-week theatrical exclusive window. (More on that later.)
The end result? Inconclusive, mostly because as a distributor Netflix has a policy of not releasing box office numbers. But data suggested that the one weekend that KPop Demon Hunters was in theaters, it won again, beating out the competition with a respectable 20 million dollars despite not appearing in the country’s largest theater company. The event was so successful that seeing a sluggish end of October/beginning of November theatrical window, Netflix is releasing another weekend of the Sing Along event. And this time? AMC is participating. In fact, the success of the first KPop Demon Hunter weekend, and AMC missing out on a hefty box office, seems to have opened a potential reconsideration on the part of the exhibitor to show more Netflix films in their theaters. KPop Demon Hunters broke AMC’s back in regards to standing on their theater-first principles.
All of these reasons are why KPop Demon Hunter is the biggest film of the year. It created a genuinely unexpected fan reaction, both from children and adult fans, that is unheard of for a fully original film creation in the modern cinematic landscape. In a world of sequels, remakes, and franchise starters, KPop Demon Hunters is the exception to the rule, a film with no previous IP or market to draw from but got an immediate audience to draw to it. It created a fandom.
It is helped by the fact that its soundtrack has been a legitimate phenomenon, topping both sales and streaming charts, and breaking through as some of the biggest K-Pop releases in history, at least in the states. The real life singers of Huntr/x (EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami) have become the best selling girl group of the 21st Century, beating out Destiny’s Child. They have appeared on late night television, including a centralized sketch on SNL. More than likely multiple songs will be nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar this year.
For years Netflix has hid behind their own data as a means of arguing that they are in fact the de facto biggest film distributor in the world. But KPop Demon Hunters is the first time, maybe ever, that a Netflix film has felt like a cultural event; despite huge numbers reported for films like Red Notice or Birdbox, those films rarely grabbed a cultural hold. It is impossible to argue that about KPDH; it is a genuine pop culture phenomenon that hasn’t been seen for an original film in years, maybe since Christopher Nolan’s Inception.
Need more data points? Google revealed that of the top ten halloween costumes people have searched this year, half of them are KPDH characters. On their web store, Netflix only has three product designated shops: Stranger Things, Wednesday, and KPDH. KPop Demon Hunters is the only one based on a movie. It is, without question, their biggest success as a film exhibitor in their history, and the film that has most impacted the cultural osmosis and the closest thing to a singular monoculture this year.
There have been a lot of films this year that are worth celebrating. But it is hard to argue that none have made a bigger impact than KPop Demon Hunters. It isn’t just a film. It is an entire moment, and by all appearances isn’t going anywhere.
And it helps that the film is good; unlike the depressive reality of A Minecraft Movie’s memed dominance this year, KPop Demon Hunters is a film that deepens on rewatch, packed with both humor and heart that allows it to be a film the rewards return viewing. It is always exciting when a movie is both popular and excellent, and the girls of Huntr/x pass that bar exceptionally.
Which all the more exciting, because it has been a while since we had a legitimate, unanticipated moment like this. It doesn’t feel that far removed from the cultural response to things like Ghostbusters or Back to the Future. It perhaps isn’t quite as revelatory as a Star Wars but it certainly has caught the cultural imagination that nothing top-to-bottom original has in forever. And that is immeasurably exciting.
The only danger is what comes next; Netflix has never quite been in a moment like this, where they have a bonafide critical and cultural success outside of the early days of Stranger Things, and certainly never as a film. Talks of not just sequels and series follow-ups, but live-action remakes, have been met with both excitement and trepidation. It only remains to be seen if the Honmoon will hold.
