NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 In the colorful, animated, musical world of 鈥淜Pop Demon Hunters,鈥 everyone is a fan. The general public rocks T-shirts supporting their favorite idols. They hold light sticks and stare starry-eyed at stadium stages; they scream, they cry, they cheer, they buy the merch.
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, then, that the Sony Pictures/ film itself has inspired similar fanfare, having topped the streamer乌鸦传媒 global rankings. Fans have flooded the internet with art, covers, cosplay and choreography in response to the movie, which follows the fictional girl group HUNTR/X as they fight demons.
And it's not just the film that's a summer hit. The 鈥淜Pop Demon Hunters鈥 soundtrack has topped the charts 鈥 debuting at No. 1 on Billboard's Soundtracks chart and No. 8 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
Here's how 鈥淜Pop Demon Hunters鈥 became the year's surprising success story.
Musical tradition 鈥 and K-pop 鈥 are honored
The 鈥淜Pop Demon Hunters鈥 soundtrack utilizes some of the best and brightest in the genre. That included a partnership with K-pop company The Black Label, co-founded by super producer Teddy Park, known for his work with YG, and 2NE1 鈥 empowered girl groups used as references for the film乌鸦传媒 protagonists, the trio HUNTR/X.
It's one of the many reasons the musical film's soundtrack stands on its own. Filmmakers 鈥渞eally did their homework,鈥 says Jeff Benjamin, a music journalist who specializes in K-pop.
Indeed, they did a lot of research. One of the film乌鸦传媒 directors, Maggie Kang, said that her team prioritized 鈥渞epresenting the fandom and the idols in a very specific way,鈥 as to not disappoint K-pop fans.
They pulled from a treasure trove of influences heard at every corner: The fictional, rival boy band Saja Boys鈥 hit song 鈥淪oda Pop,鈥 for example, references the 鈥90s K-pop group H.O.T.
And it has worked. 鈥淜Pop Demon Hunters鈥 is the highest charting soundtrack of 2025, with eight of its songs landing on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200. To put that in perspective: and did the same.
In some ways, it recalls which topped the Billboard 200 and produced a No. 1 hit, 鈥 in 2022. Similarly, 鈥淜Pop Demon Hunters鈥 embraces which is a lost art form,鈥 adds Benjamin.
Tamar Herman, a music journalist and author of the 鈥淣otes on K-pop鈥 newsletter, says the movie succeeds because it embraces animated musical tradition and authentic K-pop music production styles in equal measure. She considers 鈥淜pop Demon Hunters鈥 to be 鈥渁 musical with songs inspired by K-pop,鈥 not unlike a Jukebox musical, where the songs of
Audiences hunger for something new
The novelty of the film, too, seems to be resonating. Where many animated films rely on adapting existing intellectual property, 鈥淜Pop Demon Hunters鈥 is original. And it comes from an original perspective. 鈥淚t乌鸦传媒 not completely Korean, it乌鸦传媒 not completely Western and it乌鸦传媒 kind of right in that middle,鈥 says Kang. 鈥淚t乌鸦传媒 like not pulled from one side; it乌鸦传媒 kind of flavors of both. So, I think that乌鸦传媒 what makes the movie feels a little different.鈥
And 鈥渢he core story is what乌鸦传媒 drawing everybody in,鈥 says Kang.
San Francisco-based cosplayer and content creator Nanci Alc谩ntar, who goes by Naanny Lee online agrees. 鈥淚t乌鸦传媒 not only a K-pop group, but it also tells a story of their journey, of how they transform into powerful warriors,鈥 said Alc谩ntar in Spanish. For her, it goes beyond K-pop 鈥 it乌鸦传媒 about the narrative.
Kang乌鸦传媒 approach to cultural authenticity, too, may have contributed to the film乌鸦传媒 crossover appeal. Rather than explaining Korean elements like HUNTR/X乌鸦传媒 visit to a traditional medicine clinic or translating K-pop light stick culture for Western audiences, she opted for full immersion. 鈥淲e just wanted everybody to just accept that they were in Korea,鈥 Kang said.
The director said this method of 鈥渢hrowing people into the deep end of a culture鈥 breaks down barriers better than heavy-handed explanation. 鈥淲e just wanted to keep everything feeling normal,鈥 she explained. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 shine a light on it, it just becomes more easily accepted.鈥
Inventive animation connects
Zabrinah Santiago, a San Diego-based longtime K-pop fan and freelance illustrator who goes by ItmeZ online, was so inspired by the animation style of the movie that she raced to make fan art. She sold illustrated fan cards of HUNTR/X and Saja Boys at her booth at the Los Angeles Anime Expo, held in July, two weeks after the movie was released on Netflix.
And she wasn鈥檛 the only one. A search of #kpopdemonhunters on Instagram yields thousands of fan illustrations of HUNTR/X and Saja Boys.
Japan-based Youtuber Emily Sim, also known as Emirichu online, says the character designs and original plot drew her to the movie. Sim, with more than 3.5 million subscribers on YouTube, posted a 35-minute video about the movie. In a week-and-a-half, it garnered nearly 450,000 views.
鈥淚 love seeing all the fan art and just the ways that this movie has creatively inspired people,鈥 Sim said.
Kang says for 鈥淜Pop Demon Hunters,鈥 her team wanted to bring together demons and Jeoseung Saja 鈥 the grim reaper in Korean mythology 鈥 for a film that could look both very traditional and modernized 鈥 what she says is common in K-dramas but not in animation.
Herman compares the movie to another Sony animation: which also attracted a broad audience with its creative animation. 鈥淎nd it's a fun, animated musical, which we haven't had in a while,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t乌鸦传媒 campy, it's engaging, it's universal.鈥
And K-pop fans see themselves represented
Santiago was initially skeptical of the title 鈥淜Pop Demon Hunters.鈥
鈥淚 feel like with big companies they kind of like to use K-pop as a bait. They kind of like to take advantage of K-pop fans鈥 sincerity,鈥 said Santiago. 鈥淏ut I felt like with this one, it was such like kind of a love letter to K-pop fans.鈥
Indeed 鈥 if the film wasn't authentic to K-pop fans' experience, or mocked them, it is unlikely to have become so popular, says Benjamin. Instead, there are Easter eggs for the dedicated K-pop listener.
Herman agrees, and says that the film has in-jokes for K-pop fans, not unlike a children's movie that features some humor meant to appeal specifically to parents.
鈥淔iguring out what makes K-pop tick in a way that resonates with musical fans was really important to this movie,鈥 said Herman.
For Kang, that was always at the heart of the project. 鈥淔andom plays a huge part in the world being saved at the end of the movie,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o, we were really confident that we were doing that justice.鈥
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Karena Phan reported from Los Angeles. Juwon Park reported from Seoul.