It is hard to describe just how much of a strange, unprecedented success that KPop Demon Hunters is for Netflix, the animated film that has produced #1 musical hits, surpassing actual KPop artists’ records of the likes of BTS and BLACKPINK.
Now, Netflix has officially announced that KPop Demon Hunters has done something that no other movie has done on the service. It has reached a new viewing peak five weeks after its original release.
I previously remarked that I believed it had set another record as the most “resilient” Netflix movie, occasionally being knocked down to #2 or #3 in the Top 10 list before making it back to #1. I’ve never seen any movie do that in all the years I’ve covered the site. But Netflix has the actual data behind this, and hitting a new peak this late is the level of word of mouth you never see.
How is this happening? My guess is that the musical angle of this is the key. These songs have raced up every type of music industry chart there is, and when listeners figure out this is a fictional group from a Netflix movie they…want to go watch that Netflix movie. So here we are. It’s also an extremely rewatchable film, and with so many songs, you can almost watch it on repeat like a sort of visual album.
The question now is what happens next with the KPop Demon Hunters franchise as yes, this is about to be a franchise. Rumi actress Arden Cho has been tweeting about all the movie’s achievements for weeks, and on July 19, said, “Can we be #1 until Netflix confirms a sequel? Pretty please @Netflix.” So, as of a few days ago, nobody told her one was happening, but…it’s happening. Or something else is.
A sequel to KPop Demon Hunters is the most logical concept, of course. But you can also imagine that it could turn into an ongoing series rather than just another film. I’ve also heard the idea floated of making a live-action adaptation of it, but I can’t say I find that to be a terribly good idea.
Something will be announced soon. The problem is when that something else will come, as I can’t imagine this movie was concocted with a sequel already moving forward behind the scenes. So, starting from scratch and using this style of insanely good Sony animation is a recipe for a long gap. But the sooner a sequel or something is announced, the sooner they can get started. The news should be coming soon; I’m sure details are just being worked out behind the scenes.
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