What began as an animated tale about a fictional K-pop group has evolved into a global cultural phenomenon. Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters has now surpassed every film and series on the platform to claim the title of most-watched content in Netflix history.
According to Netflix’s official site Tudum on Wednesday, the animation drew a cumulative 266 million views, edging past Squid Game Season 1 (265.2 million views) to claim the top spot. The milestone comes four years after Squid Game first set the global benchmark.
Netflix ranks its titles by tallying cumulative views in the first 91 days after release, with “views” calculated as total hours watched divided by the title’s running time.
Released on June 20, KPop Demon Hunters remains a phenomenon well into its 11th week. To stoke engagement, Netflix recently added a “sing-along” version with on-screen lyrics for songs like “Golden,” “Soda Pop” and “Your Idol,” encouraging repeat viewing as fans belt along with the soundtrack.
The series follows K-pop idol group Huntrix as they battle evil spirits and protect the world with music — an inventive blend of K-pop culture and traditional Korean shamanism.
The frenzy has spilled over to the music charts as well. Its lead track “Golden” has held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks. On Sept. 2, Billboard reported in its preview article that “Golden” once again beat out Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” to stay at the top.
The magazine also noted that only two other K-pop songs have ever ruled the Hot 100 for three weeks or longer: BTS’s “Butter” (10 weeks) and “Dynamite” (3 weeks).
by Byung-Yeon Yoo
yooby@hankyung.com
