KPop Demon Hunters

On June 20th, 2025, Netflix released a new animated film called KPop Demon Hunters. Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, this movie follows a K-pop girl group, Huntr/x, who lead double lives as demon hunters facing off against a rival boy band, the Saja Boys, whose members are secretly demons. There are four main characters: Rumi, Mira, Zoey, and Jinu. The first three are best friends and each is a member of Huntr/x, whereas Jinu is the lead singer of the Saja Boys and a demon with a dark past. The girls spend the film learning to trust each other and working to defeat Gwi-Ma, the demon king, before he can take over the world. Zoey is a chronic people pleaser who struggles with standing up for herself, and Mira is the black sheep of her family who has a hard time making friendships with others. Rumi, the lead singer of their group, is very secretive and isolated from the other two girls, as she is keeping something from her two friends. Rumi’s mother, a former hunter, fell in love with a demon, making Rumi half-demon. After her death, she left Rumi in the care of her now manager and another former demon hunter, Celine, who convinced Rumi to hide her marks from the other girls. Rumi becomes worried as her demon marks begin spreading at the same time that the girls are succeeding in their quest, and creates a golden Honmoon.  The Honmoon is a magical barrier between the human and demon realms that was created by the first demon hunters, and each new generation has been tasked with protecting it. Not only that,  but the ultimate goal of the three is to spread enough joy and connection through their music that it creates a golden Honmoon. When this is achieved, Gwi-Ma and the demons will be banished forever, and the human realm will be safe at last. 

This movie received an incredible reception from audiences of all ages for its engaging plot, fun and interesting music, and vivid portrayals of young Korean women. On July 29, only a month after its release, Netflix announced that Kpop Demon Hunters had become the platform's "most-watched original animated film of all time.” When it was finally released in theaters, the movie made 19.2 million dollars, and could have made even more if it had not been released on Netflix first. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie 95%, an almost perfect score overall, and critics everywhere awarded it glowing reviews. “Golden,” one of KPop Demon Hunter’s most popular songs, was number one on the Billboard Top 100 for six weeks as well as number one on Spotify, making Huntr/x the first female Kpop group to reach number one on the chart. “Your Idol,” another song from the soundtrack accredited to the Saja Boys in the film, also hit number one on Spotify, surpassing BTS as the highest charting male Kpop group ever. KPop Demon Hunters is one of the most successful films of this year, and its popularity is still extremely high. Streams of the songs and of the movie continue increasing steadily to this day, even months later. In short, if you find yourself with some free time and aren’t sure what to watch, give this movie a try.