HUNTR/X continues to go up, up, up, as KPop Demon Hunters is now one step away from topping Netflix‘s charts. The sleeper hit from Sony Animation is now the streamer’s second most-watched movie in history, having garnered 184.6 million views globally in eight weeks.
This puts it behind 2021’s Red Notice, starring Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Dwayne Johnson (Black Adam), and Ryan Reynolds (the Deadpool films), which sits at 230.9 million views. As it stands, there’s a possibility that the animated darling may unseat the action-comedy title — it has collected at least 20 million viewers per week since its debut on 20 June, with the latest week (4 to 10 August) clocking another 25.9 million views.
The rise in viewership is an impressive feat, considering that most releases would typically lose steam after their opening weeks. It’s another victory secured for KPop Demon Hunters, following previous milestones that include becoming Netflix’s most-watched original animated film of all time and, more recently, the fourth most-popular English movie on the list.
Musically, the soundtracks used in and written for are also retaining a strong hold on the global charts. “Golden”, whose music is voiced by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and REI AMI, made history as the first girl group (with three or more members) to top the Hot 100 since Destiny’s Child in 2001, while the rest of the album has filled out the ranks of Spotify’s Top 100. “Golden” is also now ranked No.1 on various charts, including the UK Official Singles Chart and South Korea’s Melon Top 100.
Directed by Maggie Kang, who was head of story for The Lego Ninjago Movie, Kpop Demon Hunters centres on a fictional K-pop girl group, HUNTR/X (pronounced ‘Huntrix’), who lead double lives as demon hunters, and face off against a rival boy band called Saja Boys, whose members are secretly demons. Arden Cho (Teen Wolf), May Hong (High Maintenance), and Ji-young Yoo (Moxie) lend their voices to vocalist and overall leader Rumi, visual-slash-main-dancer Mira, and rapper Zoey, respectively.
“When they aren’t selling out stadiums, K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira and Zoey use their secret identities as badass demon hunters to protect their fans from an ever-present supernatural threat. Together, they must face their biggest enemy yet — an irresistible rival boy band of demons in disguise,” reads a description of the film from Rotten Tomatoes, where it boasts a 97 per cent critic score and 92 per cent audience score.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Ting Wei
Kevin Low
