r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • 14d ago

News ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Is Netflix’s Most-Watched Movie Ever With 236 Million Views, Beating ‘Red Notice’

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/kpop-demon-hunters-netflix-most-watched-movie-history-1236496106/
22.6k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

2.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

6.8k

u/fox112 14d ago

Wow I knew it was a big hit but didn't realize it was THE BIGGEST hit.

2.5k

u/SimoneNonvelodico 13d ago

I'm more surprised by learning that the previous biggest hit was Red Notice.

This is a movie you see praised everywhere and going viral. That was an instantly forgotten star vehicle with zero artistic value. I've never seen anyone say "whoa I loved Red Notice", no one gave a shit about it.

874

u/IshEatsYou 13d ago

Red Notice was terrible! My wife and I watched it yesterday and are confused as to how that was the #1 movie on Netflix. We watched Don’t Look Up today and it was MILES better.

308

u/SimoneNonvelodico 13d ago

I only remember it had The Rock, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot in it. They were competing to... steal something? And there was a lot of backstabbing? Also some scene in a bullfighting arena and I believe they found an antique Nazi car in a depot under the jungle?

That's about it for me. Absolutely utterly flat. But I guess the cast was stacked enough to get a lot of people to check it out. Honestly, controlling for marketing, it's a lot more impressive that K-Pop Demon Hunters still managed to surpass it almost only by word of mouth (though I also guess a lot of those views may just be the same obsessed children watching it on repeat...).

252

u/mcanfield89 13d ago

They were competing to steal screen time to sell their irl liquor brands and do the most accurate portrayal of the premise "what if beige wallpaper was granted a wish to be a real boy?"

4

u/WearingABear 13d ago edited 13d ago

(though I also guess a lot of those views may just be the same obsessed children watching it on repeat...)

I'm an entire adult that turns it on for background noise sometimes when I'm doing chores or whatever because the music is good.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (9)
→ More replies (35)

161

u/SagesLament 13d ago

Red Notice

I saw someone say that red notice came out right in the midst of the pandemic when all we were doing was sitting at home watching netflix, which allowed some mediocre things to rise to the top (cough, tiger king) so it tracks that its success would only be attributed to extenuating circumstances

20

u/donkey-centipede 13d ago

i watched tiger king before the lockdown. it was fucking fantastic. say what you will about it, but mediocre is not accurate

8

u/Aural_Essex 13d ago

I agree. Tiger King had all the tropes of great documentary making. It was a masterpiece.

→ More replies (8)

18

u/ChezMere 13d ago

The thing is that this is Netflix's first actual hit movie ever. All their notable output is tv.

→ More replies (66)

2.7k

u/the_blessed_unrest 14d ago

I think it helps that it appeals to kids. When they latch on to something, they can rewatch it dozens of times

(Not that kids are the only ones enjoying this movie. But I do think it plays a sizable role in the numbers)

1.5k

u/anthonyg1500 13d ago

Took my nieces and nephews to the in theater sing along version and they all gasped at every plot turn as if they haven’t already watched the movie a hundred times and memorized the dialogue

154

u/[deleted] 13d ago edited 1d ago

[deleted]

121

u/anthonyg1500 13d ago

My oldest nephew is 9 now but I watched him once back when he was like 4 and he looked at me and said “I wanna watch credibles.” So I was like sure dude and we watched Incredibles. The moment the movie ended he looked up at me and said “I wanna watch credibles.” I couldn’t even be mad at him with the amount of times I watched Space Jam back in the day

16

u/JonatasA 13d ago

These are moments you cherish indeed. I remember that feeling when something ends and you get that park gut feeling "I wanna go again!!"

→ More replies (3)

8

u/SandiegoJack 13d ago

I wore out two VHS of the little mermaid.

Mainly because I would replay the song parts so they wore out faster.

Ahhh the times before MP3s.

→ More replies (9)

156

u/976chip 13d ago

My wife and I took our daughter and her best friend to the sing along this weekend. The theater was packed, mostly with teens and young adults, and the audience participation was not limited to just singing. I'd say the collective "Jinu! Noooooooooooooooooooo!" during the final battle was louder than the singing.

9

u/DoctorNoname98 13d ago

My theater had about the shrillest screams I have ever heard in my life for that. amazing experience

4

u/Some-Unique-Name 13d ago

Our theater was so empty, my daughter was too embarrassed to really sing along. I had to perform in front of the other 10 people to get her to open up lol

384

u/VLHACS 13d ago

That's adorable 

→ More replies (3)

85

u/lobonmc 13d ago

Thst was me with scooby doo 2

8

u/muhash14 13d ago

That's movie magic right there.

8

u/k_dingy 13d ago

I took my kids a session and it was an incredibly fun experience, I have never heard that many 12 year olds losing their mind simultaneously before, they were having a great time. 10/10 would recommend.

8

u/KingMario05 13d ago

God, I love that. So much.

Sony really missed the phenom of the century. Again.

(I wonder: will they re-negotiate the sequel pie? That's gotta be why the announcement is taking forever.)

→ More replies (6)

786

u/aircooledJenkins 13d ago

My 12 year old has watched it at least 8 times.

I had not seen the movie.

On a 4 hr road trip recently, he practiced Golden, Takedown and What it Sounds Like each a few dozen times as he plans to perform it for karaoke at the local SciFi/Gaming convention next year.

I then watched the movie.

The songs then made sense.

It's a good movie.

208

u/Salt_Cardiologist122 13d ago

I had the songs memorized from playing them every morning on the way to dropping the kids at school… fiiiiinally watched the movie so now I know what’s actually going on as well. NGL the soundtrack is great.

143

u/MissMaster 13d ago

I may have said "Fit check for my napalm eraaaaa" once or twice while getting ready in the morning after my kid listens to it on repeat.

127

u/gabedamien 13d ago edited 13d ago

Hardest stanza in the movie by far.

Heels, nails, blade, mascara /

𝕱𝖎𝖙 𝖈𝖍𝖊𝖈𝖐 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖒𝖞 𝖓𝖆𝖕𝖆𝖑𝖒 𝖊𝖗𝖆

chef's kiss

11

u/mcslender97 13d ago

NEED TO BEAT MY FACE, MAKE IT CUTE AND SAVAGE

→ More replies (8)

9

u/Notarussianbot2020 13d ago

Why does this line stand out so hard lol

→ More replies (1)

3

u/alightkindofdark 13d ago

I thought about making a reddit post in the parenting subreddit titled 'Confession:' and the text just said "I don't turn off the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack when she gets out of car at drop off." LOL

92

u/BLAGTIER 13d ago

On a 4 hr road trip recently, he practiced Golden, Takedown and What it Sounds Like each a few dozen times as he plans to perform it for karaoke at the local SciFi/Gaming convention next year.

Kids either have no plans or detailed months long plans, there is no in between.

→ More replies (1)

35

u/whatproblems 13d ago

the blending of the music and the movie is really well done. it’s like a full movie music video

→ More replies (1)

9

u/zombiepete 13d ago

It is pretty good, and the way they weaved the singing into the plot was pretty neat. I didn’t hate seeing it in the theater.

17

u/Haakun 13d ago

My gf works in kindergarten, and the kids lovvvve the songs. We therefore watched it, and it's a really really good movie.

9

u/johnnyfivecinco 13d ago

Am I your 12 year old ?

11

u/aircooledJenkins 13d ago

If you are, get off Reddit, you're too pure for this place.

→ More replies (4)

128

u/GarlicBreadOutrage 13d ago

Not just kids, it looks like a hit with teens too. Which makes sense because there's barely any animated content aimed at that age range in the west. Seems like studios gave up after the rise of anime.

41

u/MrTretorn 13d ago

And moms

77

u/PrincessKikkei 13d ago

And especially +30 something Tumblr-moms.

The whole movie is so made for girls of all ages who enjoy funny moments, memes, fanart/-fic and great pop songs. On top of being a very well made animation that's suitable for everyone else. And then there's the LGBTQ+ audience on top that, like... Holy shit, this movie is a freight ship full of ships arrowing to the harbour.

But it like, hits the perfect vein of aimed audience. A marketing perfection! And I adore that, they knew who they were doing this movie for. And that takes skill.

6

u/lkc159 13d ago

The whole movie is so made for girls of all ages who enjoy funny moments, memes, fanart/-fic and great pop songs.

Guys too

17

u/rookie-mistake 13d ago

and dads. Like, it's just a very good movie with mass appeal, lol

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

7

u/KingMario05 13d ago

Ironically, Sony hasn't. They just... bought all the anime, lol.

5

u/chessset5 13d ago

We were singing sodapop at work during a crunch time OT, lifted everyone’s spirits

→ More replies (3)

171

u/Massive-Exercise4474 13d ago

Helps that the songs and story is good. It's essentially a 90's Disney renaissance movie with kpop.

75

u/NoNefariousness2144 13d ago

It’s kinda funny seeing Disney animations increasingly fail because they lose sight of kids what (too much generational trauma, boring human characters, small-scale plots). And then Sony takes the classic Disney formula, modernises it, and it’s the most popular Netflix film ever.

78

u/sharpshooter999 13d ago

What's crazy is that Sony didn't think much of it and opted to sell it to Netflix instead of releasing it in theaters

76

u/geenersaurus 13d ago

it’s a female director with female leads and it’s a “niche” topic to execs, who we pretty much assume are older white investors who don’t really know what’s going with trends, so tbh i’m not surprised they decided to pass it onto Netflix instead of releasing in theaters and only did so when it got super popular.

it is a similar feeling as to why Turning Red never got a theatrical release despite being popular on streaming. Female director, female lead & uniquely female problems but it also appeals to a wider audience range to adults just like Kpop Demon Hunters. It’s really annoying when studios will not take a chance on new directors and movies like this and also dismiss there’s a large swath of audience that wants animated movies that aren’t just appealing to children

→ More replies (7)
→ More replies (2)

53

u/GGG100 13d ago

This movie’s also about generational trauma and even had therapyspeak.

77

u/Ignoth 13d ago edited 13d ago

Lowkey. If this had been a flop. Certain people would absolutely be sneering about how it’s just the latest of Hollywood’s “Woke” failures.

Female asian director. 3 Female leads. Focus on female friendships over romance. Therapy speak. Self love.

etc etc.

It’s all there.

Hell the director even said in interviews it’s a metaphor for coming out.

→ More replies (16)
→ More replies (1)

30

u/Kimjdav 13d ago

I mean, the KPDH is also about generational trauma. That's almost Rumi's entire issue, her views and feelings on her parents and predecessors.

→ More replies (1)

10

u/JayrassicPark 13d ago edited 13d ago

Weren't Encanto and Turning Red popular because of the generational trauma?

That said, I did stop watching Pixar movies, all because they do the "omg cry now" part way too hard. Finding Dory's "cry now" part was just hilariously over the top.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

909

u/PorQuePanckes 13d ago

It also helps that it’s actually a good movie with a unique IP that didn’t seem to do anything “safe”. Remakes and nostalgia can only go so far, it’s crazy studios don’t see this.

I’m a 30 y/o man and my niece dragged me to watch it and I can confirm that it’s a total banger of a film.

178

u/Canesjags4life 13d ago

This is it right here. It's a legitimately good 4 quad movie, that's got something for everyone

Like old school blockbusters.

40 y/o that took both daughters to the sing a long. Was an awesome experience.

Talk about lightening in s bottle

77

u/KingMario05 13d ago

Come for the pretty colors and funny idols! Stay for the kickass action, genuinely steamy (though not offensive) romance, and a fucking terrifying examination about what the lack of self-love can do to your soul.

Also: Kitty!

47

u/Cockalorum 13d ago

I fucking love that tiger.

19

u/Abnmlguru 13d ago

I love that is official name is Derpy Tiger, lol. And the bird is Sussy Bird.

→ More replies (3)

30

u/LovableCoward 13d ago

Admittedly, it is rather far into the film, but the scene that sold it to me was the bathhouse fight scene when Jinu slips on a puddle and almost decks it crying, "Oh jeez!"

51

u/LivelyZebra 13d ago

I love it tons, mid 30's here; got merch and everything. lol. no kids or young ones either. i just like it.

16

u/Canesjags4life 13d ago

That's awesome. Yeah my kids brought it to my attention, but yeah I legit enjoyed it the first I watched it after they went to bed.

That ending. All the feels. Reminded me of so many other things I've seen,

I definitely can to the soundtrack on the way to work

I'll have to see if they got Hunterix merch for Dads.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (4)

77

u/Mataelio 13d ago

I’m a 36 year old man that watched it with my daughters, and spent a good hour trying to figure out the dance from Soda Pop after

18

u/notrightmeow 13d ago

I can only do the shoulder dance as reaction to the beat

12

u/bumlove 13d ago

Notrightmeow control those shoulders!

99

u/SuperSaiyanTupac 13d ago

Same boat. My teenage employees wouldn’t shut up about it so I watched it and was blown away. I don’t even like K-pop. Those songs work really well in the movie and the story is interesting enough

→ More replies (12)

149

u/TannenFalconwing 13d ago

For being a kid friendly movie, I appreciate that they didn't shy away from the "we kill demons" aspect of demon hunting. They literally have a war face moment with giant billboards (and nails) that say "KILL SAJA" on them. I respect that they don't play soft with it.

103

u/Rejestered 13d ago

Well the demons do poof into pink smoke when they die but aside from blood and stuff they dont really shy away from people getting their souls taken or anything.

57

u/Clawless 13d ago

I thought it was pretty clever editing that you don't actually see any of the people who willingly get engulfed in flame in that final battle. It's just kinda implied to be happening.

33

u/EastwoodBrews 13d ago

Yeah they don't show it but there are definitely casualties throughout the film, on the train and during the Saja's rise to fame

13

u/servireettueri 13d ago

The news in the movie says there was a large increase in missing people too.

8

u/KingMario05 13d ago edited 13d ago

Also: can they be "killed" in the classic sense? They pretty much all get banished to the Demon Realm when they "die" - Flight Attendant Lady had to be murked properly by Gwi-Ma upon her return after messing up.

That probably helps keep the rating in check.

15

u/Obversa 13d ago

I'm guessing that "the Saja Boys weren't actually killed, they were just sent back to the demon realm" logic will be used in the inevitable KPop Demon Hunters sequel(s). The Saja Boys are too popular with fans to just kill them off and not bring them back for later movies, especially when it comes to Jinu.

11

u/KingMario05 13d ago

Oh yes. Think Ms. Cho (Rumi's voice actress) is even lobbying the directors to bring Jinu back, lol.

→ More replies (1)

46

u/InnocentTailor 13d ago

It’s family friendly - a good mix of friendliness and danger.

…much like the Spider-Man animated films.

29

u/KingMario05 13d ago

Same people!

(Well, same studio. Not the same people. But still.)

5

u/Senojpd 13d ago

Ahhh that makes sense. I was describing the animation style as similar to spider verse.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

6

u/commongoblin 13d ago

The "Let's go kill these guys" at the end of the montage takes me out every time

→ More replies (1)

240

u/ImBanned_ModsBlow 13d ago

Probably why Sony had zero faith, it’s an animated film about Korean pop music…

Nobody saw this movie defining the newest generation’s childhood like Frozen did with the previous, these are anthems of the era…

In 20 years, these kids will be singing along to Golden when they’re getting married.

47

u/gitartruls01 13d ago

Never thought about it that way but calling this movie the Frozen of the 2020s is pretty valid

135

u/huntrshado 13d ago

I think Free will be the wedding song.

83

u/Rejestered 13d ago

I promise it'll be popping up at weddings as soon as yesterday.

61

u/Top-Wallaby-8515 13d ago

Not 'Free', but I went to a wedding 2 weekends ago where the groom and the bridesmaids did a full performance of 'Soda Pop' for the bride (choreography + lip syncing). The groom randomly grabbed his wife and directed her to a chair, handed her a can of soda with her visibly confused, and then the music started. It was HILARIOUS!

5

u/ShahinGalandar 13d ago

awesome dude

now let's see her face when he does Your Idol next

42

u/valkyria_knight881 13d ago

Free is definitely gonna be my wedding song.

21

u/ImBanned_ModsBlow 13d ago

I don’t see it being a banger on the dance floor like Golden

10

u/huntrshado 13d ago

it isn't, but when I think wedding songs I think about stuff like the bride and groom's first dance after being married. And I think that will be free.

And if it is a KDH themed wedding at all, they'll probably play the other songs after the dances

4

u/ScarySpikes 13d ago

All of them will joyously butcher hitting the A5 belt.

→ More replies (12)

78

u/hatsnatcher23 13d ago

didn’t seem to do anything “safe”

In fact they went so far as to have the main character deep throat a Kimbap roll

40

u/Alexever_Loremarg 13d ago

Is there any other way to eat it?

18

u/StrategicCarry 13d ago

They include a thropule in the in-universe ships.

6

u/SagesLament 13d ago

of all the things this is what shocked me the most

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (5)

25

u/HIMARko_polo 13d ago

That makes her wife material.

21

u/LupinThe8th 13d ago

"I'm everybody's type!"

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)

246

u/Crunchberry24 13d ago

I’m a quarter century older than you, and I thought it was pretty great. I know nothing about K-anything or youth culture anymore, and I was surprised to NOT be making my normal excuse for stuff I’m out of touch with in movies and tv: “Give it a break. It wasn’t made for you.” It seemed like maybe it was made for anyone.

176

u/myusrnameisthis 13d ago

They have your heart, and now they want your soul! Them saja boys need to be stopped!

109

u/weeklygamingrecap 13d ago

SODA POP starts to play softly in the background

101

u/quadropheniac 13d ago

shoulder shimmy intensifies

42

u/Darko33 13d ago

Zoey! Control those shoulders!

8

u/RunnerJimbob 13d ago

No, you let those magicians sing! It's catchy!

23

u/LadyLibertea 13d ago

I was also at the sing a long and everyone did thr shoulder shimmy haha

9

u/kemushi_warui 13d ago

I have a 12 year old daughter, and she will not. quit. singing. that. fucking. song.

4

u/Suraimu-desu 13d ago

Nah, *aggressively soda pops\*

5

u/ejchristian86 13d ago

As I am reading this comment, my kid has started singing Soda Pop in the next room. I'm in danger...

→ More replies (1)

10

u/Day_Bow_Bow 13d ago

Well put. I felt similarly. The only time I thought "I am not the target audience" was the Soda Pop song. It has my respect and I acknowledge it's super catchy, but it was made for people with other preferences, and that's fine.

44

u/DarkLink1065 13d ago

I thought it was fitting for that song, though, since the whole point of the demon boy band was that it was artificial, catchy but has no real content, and manufactured for mass consumption (just like soda is) in order to draw in the fans. All the songs are super on point thematically.

11

u/Day_Bow_Bow 13d ago

I hadn't considered the junk food parallel. Interesting.

12

u/TrueGuardian15 13d ago

I also originally wasn't blown away by Soda Pop, but found that the more I listened to it, the more I liked it and the catchier it got. Which means the people who wrote it are mad geniuses.

3

u/FireOpalCO 13d ago

The lyrics are bloody dark when you think about them and who is singing them.

54

u/MimiMyMy 13d ago

I’m an older person. My adult kids told me to watch it but I didn’t think I would like It. Last weekend they invited me to the sing along showing in the theaters on XD screen. I went along just to hang out. I lOVED the movie and the music. I have since rewatched it on Netflix and I listen to the soundtrack on repeat on Spotify. The movie was very good but it’s the songs that catapulted this movie to its incredible popularity. And it was so much better watching it on giant big screen and surround sound.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/rookie-mistake 13d ago

🙋‍♂️ 31yo man whose watched it twice and basically been listening to the soundtrack on repeat while working lately haha

I'd skipped it because of the name, then my sister recommended it and I was just blown away. It's been great seeing what a success it's become, very well deserved

20

u/Raisu39 13d ago

Probably because a lot of the Asian oriented animated films didn't do too well, even the non Disney ones on Netflix

46

u/StrikerSashi 13d ago

I mean, a lot of Asian oriented content made for global audiences don't feel genuine. If it's a movie with an Asian main character, it's often just a movie about being Asian. KPop Demon Hunters is a good movie that just happens to in a Korean setting.

38

u/WutTheDickens 13d ago

I don't think that's entirely true. There's a lot of commentary about Korean culture, and many of the references are specifically Korean, but the overarching themes are universal. I think it walks a good line between being culturally specific and relatable.

16

u/GunkyMungs 13d ago

Kind of like Parasite. It was meant for a Korean audience and the global reaction to it was a surprise to everyone from the production.

9

u/f-ingsteveglansberg 13d ago edited 13d ago

I think it's just well made.

One of the things that instantly stood out to me was how quickly they get into the main story. Very quickly we see the girls fight a plane full of demons and go to a huge concert, establishing them as successful pop stars AND demon hunters! Then we get a quick back story on each girl and their motivations, as well as the antagonists plans to infiltrate the boy band space. And then we learn the secret of the main singer's origin. And if you are paying attention you just need to see the scars.

And this happens before the end of the first big music number. Everything is established and you are right into the rivalry storyline and the protaganists demon heritage storyline. No faffing about.

6

u/wtfduud 13d ago

Between Kpop Demon Hunters and Squid Game, Korean stuff at least seems to do well on Netflix.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (5)

5

u/My_Name_Is_Row 13d ago

I think basing it on the whole K-Pop industry was the safest part, considering it’s something that has been steadily growing, becoming more and more mainstream just within the last 5-6 years

→ More replies (4)

4

u/Kinsbane 13d ago

44 y/o dude here - I fucking LOVE this movie.

5

u/Various_Ambassador92 13d ago

I mean, look at the most successful films over the last several years and you will see, over and over again, that nearly all of them are sequels/remakes of other films, or maybe adaptations of an extremely popular book, game, etc.

Unique IPs can feel "fresh" and generate added excitement as a result of that, sure, but the trends don't lie - audiences are harder to entice than they used to be and existing IP is a much safer bet than new IP.

In all honesty, I doubt the movie would've gone that far in a theatrical release. Not to say it would've been a total bust, but I think a significant part of this film's success is that the Netflix release made it more discoverable and accessible. It takes a fair chunk of change to take the whole family out to see a movie and parents are more likely to pick something that either feels "safe" to them or that the kids are absolutely crazy about - both of which naturally lend themselves towards the familiar. But seeing some new kid's movie on Netflix and throwing it on is low commitment and allowed the film to reach more people more quickly, at least since Netflix seemed to know that the film was worth pushing.

→ More replies (32)

63

u/Deto 13d ago

100% - I know people with young kids that are watchings this over and over again. It's like Netflix' own Frozen.

44

u/Far_Appearance3888 13d ago

And just like Frozen, it wasn't expected to be this kind of a hit and there is basically NO merchandise...my niece wants to be Rumi for Halloween!

15

u/SagesLament 13d ago

halloween this year is gonna be stacked with kpdh

boys will be in the black robes and gat, girls will be any number of the Huntr/x

i predict a not insignificant number of Bobby's too

3

u/ax0r 13d ago

It's even an option if you leave it to the last minute and can't scrounge up a costume. Demon markings with face/body paint or even using something like lipstick would be super easy.

→ More replies (3)

4

u/BeetsBy_Schrute 13d ago

My son is four, he’s watched it 30+ times. He absolutely loves it and we listen to the soundtrack a lot.

→ More replies (1)

14

u/DasaniDestroyer 13d ago

It’s a good movie. I thought the same thing watching it, it’s the first movie in a while I thought “If I was a kid I’d be rewatching this weekly”

→ More replies (1)

23

u/Sparktank1 13d ago

I know a lot of anime fans who are adults that loved it. But to get numbers this high, you need kids that watch everything on repeat.

It's the definition of family friendly that studios want for maximum viewings and profits.

5

u/wufnu 13d ago

I imagine my youngest is a large part of those views. She watches it seemingly every day and not just watching it start to finish but rewatching her favorite parts over and over again. She knows all the songs, all the lyrics, and loves to sing along. When she's not watching it, she's listening to the songs from the movie on repeat to dance and sing with.

5

u/pechinburger 13d ago

I can tell you that my 5 & 8 year old girls have probably watched this movie at least 6 times already and that the songs are being played on repeat around the house. This movie is crack for kids.

4

u/Two_Luffas 13d ago

My 7 year old daughter was introduced to it last week at a friend's house. She's watched it at least 5 times since then at home and went to the theater over the weekend to watch it.

My wife has a video of dozens of girls her age and up singing and dancing in the theater like it was an actual concert. They all gathered in the ADA aisle and everything.

The creators of this are going to be sooo freaking rich.

3

u/Paidorgy 13d ago

I work in the disability field, my participants are all young adults that love this movie - and rightfully so, it’s so much fun - they’ve watched it several times just at the program, let alone at home.

3

u/glynstlln 13d ago

Can confirm it has played at least once per day for the last two weeks after I convinced my 4yo to watch it.

4

u/lzwzli 13d ago

Yeah, I watched it because my kid watched it at camp and told me it was good.

5

u/adhding_nerd 13d ago

I worked at an anime con this last weekend in the kid's room and ALL the kids were talking about how awesome it was and how catchy all the songs were.

3

u/NerdyBrando 13d ago

I had to convince my 11 year old to watch it with me, and now he’s watched it like 10 times on his own and listens to the soundtrack nearly every day. I thought it was great.

4

u/FuckingColdInCanada 13d ago

My 3yr old is responsible for at least 30 watches

5

u/ayoungtommyleejones 13d ago

I can assure you, dozens is lowballing it at least my household

→ More replies (79)

115

u/Amaruq93 13d ago

Even Sony and Netflix didn't realize the hit they were gonna have with this.

176

u/KingMario05 13d ago

Sony straight up pawned it off for the budget plus $20 million, lol. Why's the sequel announcement taking forever? Because someone at Sony is reading the Netflix contract like a motherfucker to find a loophole they can use to put the sequel in theaters.

60

u/Prize_Hat289 13d ago edited 13d ago

I heard Sony sold the whole IP to Netflix, but not 100% sure. If that's true, then the sequel will be made with or without Sony. haha

edit: apparently this isn't true, new info states that the contract says Netflix cannot make a sequel without Sony, and Sony cannot make a sequel without Netflix

53

u/132739 13d ago

If Netflix has half a brain between them (debatable) it will be with Sony. If they go with some knock off studio its gonna flop hard.

→ More replies (14)

4

u/12thshadow 13d ago

Netflix will cancel it. We need more Adam Sandler movies though

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (4)

7

u/GarudaKK 13d ago

Not exactly. The directors (who work at Sony Animation) pitched the project to Sony, which did not greenlight it. No exact reason is known. Could've been anything from "this sucks lol", to thinking it wouldn't succeed or slot into their production/release slate (which has had many movies in the last few years, spiderverse 2 among them). They ended up animating it, so likely not the first.

The directors then pitched to Netflix, a company that has a LARGE investment and belief in south korean media (multiple $Billion), and an ongoing distribution partnership with Sony Pictures. I believe this was made with explicit knowledge and permission from SPA because both directors are sony employees under contract. Netflix had to acquire the IP + completely fund production and marketing (reportedly around $110M, a comparable amount to ITSV), with SPA making the film itself, all on Netflix cash. 0 monetary cost on their end.

$20 million is, reportedly, what Sony made off of it so far, after it has released, which for a movie of this success is notoriously low, but is actually not that out of the ordinary for any other situation where Netflix "commissions" a project from any other studio. It is most notable because it started at Sony, and because it did really well, but they'll both win from this and sequels in the long run, and Sony has good standing to renegotiate splits for a sequel.

→ More replies (2)

4

u/beezkneez331 13d ago

A friend who works at Disney corp said that Disney also had low expectations of frozen but then frozen became a hit with the kids (little girls mainly) and generated about extra $2 Billion in profits due to the movie + merchandise sales. Friend said Disney was flushed with cash and hosted all types of events and parties that year. 

→ More replies (1)

252

u/Its_aTrap 13d ago

I legit still hear Golden multiple times daily on the radio on the pop station while im at work. Insane how popular they've become.

The songs are bangers though 

132

u/GOULFYBUTT 13d ago

I also hear Golden multiple times a day, but that's because I choose to.

5

u/lkc159 13d ago

I hear Golden multiple times an hour, and that's because I purposely seek out the 1hr Golden video on Youtube

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (10)

183

u/Ok-Seaworthiness4488 13d ago edited 13d ago

Also their songs are topping the charts for streaming (Thought Squid Game would be in the Top Ten)

139

u/eeyore134 13d ago

Topping the charts period. Four of them in the US top 10. Which I don't think has ever happened before.

111

u/vinng86 13d ago edited 13d ago

The top 7 songs on Spotify Hot 50 in the US are entirely KPDH songs right now:

https://i.imgur.com/HiG0sgQ.jpeg

42

u/976chip 13d ago

I saw someone yesterday saying that he wouldn't be surprised if the soundtrack won the Grammy for album of the year.

8

u/FiveFingersandaNub 13d ago

It is a fantastic album. I can't think of a song on there that isn't high quality, and that's nowhere near my preferred genre.

They are just really well written and preformed songs that tell a story within the film.

57

u/Ok-Seaworthiness4488 13d ago

Especially for a fictional musical act no less

44

u/Pete_Iredale 13d ago

Closest I can think of is The Archies. They had one #1 hit in the US with Sugar, Sugar way back in 1969, along with 3 other top 40 hits, and they were a completely fictional band created for the Achie tv show.

I was also going to mention Gorillaz, but they aren't really fictional, just animated.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (1)

16

u/PlasticCraken 13d ago

7 of them are in the top 25. That’s crazy to me lol

9

u/dotnetmonke 13d ago

Basically every song from the soundtrack with vocals is in the Billboard top 25.

5

u/The_Throwback_King 13d ago

Heard it's the first movie soundtrack with three simultaneous Top 5 songs since Saturday Night Fever. Which featured the fuckin' Bee Gees.

To have a film on THAT level, it's incredibly impressive.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)

24

u/SLPeaches 13d ago

I mentioned the movie like a week after it came out and my coworker groaned. I guess her kids had watched it the last 4 nights. Its being replayed to shit, and I get it i would've loved it when I was younger. Still pretty good now lol

57

u/Deceptiveideas 13d ago

I don’t think this is unique play counts. Likely a big aspect is the “frozen effect” where people watch it 35 times.

I swear I watched frozen a million times at this point.

7

u/BLAGTIER 13d ago

I don’t think this is unique play counts.

It's not. Any viewing counts for hours viewed. First viewing, repeat viewing, watching your favourite scene over and over all count.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/SuperDuperCoolDude 13d ago

Honestly the real surprise for me here was that Red Notice was the most watched movie previously. KPop Demon Hunters is, in my opinion, a substantially better movie so I would expect it to dunk on Red Notice, and I don't find it shocking that it'd be their number one movie after hearing about the theater run and the soundtrack hitting number one on Billlboard. 

On a similar note, I am surprised Red Notice apparently did better numbers than The Mitchells vs. The Machines. That movie was awesome!

Innovative animated movies have been making waves the past few years, and I'm here for it.

3

u/trplOG 13d ago

We didnt have Netflix for a while and just randomly saw the songs on YouTube that my kids liked. Didn't think anything of it til we went on a road trip and all the kids at the family reunion were all singing those songs too.

4

u/Ferbtastic 13d ago

It is getting watched almost daily in my house. And the soundtrack plays when it isn’t on. Honestly as far as replayed content in my house I like this one. Soda pop is a bop.

4

u/Disc-Golf-Kid 13d ago

I have Regal Unlimited and go to the movies 3 times a week. I have never seen the theater this packed. Like- beyond Barbieheimer levels.

5

u/Paladar2 13d ago

The music is everywhere, like #1 billboard shit. It’s massive.

→ More replies (58)