KPop Demon Hunters was released on Netflix over a month ago but as I have said many times over the last few weeks, the movie and the soundtrack have not peaked. The initial enthusiasm came from its targeted audience but the audience for the movie has expanded well beyond K-pop fans. KPop Demon Hunters is now firmly mainstream because it’s bringing together multiple demos: K-pop and animation fans, families, internet girlies, the queer community, and more. 

 

As we’ve seen, the usual trend on Netflix is for a title to pop off early and then taper away because the platform has so much content to roll out. This has not been the case for KPop Demon Hunters and this week it achieved something extraordinary: 

 

Kinda reminds you of another Korean-coded show, right? Squid Game. The first season dropped quietly. A month later it was the show everyone was watching and would go on to become the most watched series in Netflix history, period. I’m not saying that Kpop Demon Hunters will be Netflix’s most ever watched movie but it will definitely be considered one of its most successful movies – and a movie that just keeps building and building momentum. That both of these projects are Korean stories tells you something about the influence and power of Korean creatives right now. 

 

As for that soundtrack, it has seven tracks on the Billboard Hot 100, with “Golden” currently in the #4 spot, which doesn’t surprise me because I am bumping that song non-stop every day, I love it so much. This, of course, is the song that Netflix is pushing for a Best Original Song nomination at the Oscars. 

Meanwhile, there’s more on the way. Ji-young Yoo, who plays Zoey in Kpop Demon Hunters, has been confirmed for a live action movie alongside singer-songwriter Eric Nam directed by Benson Lee. Per Variety:

“The story revolves around a young Korean American woman who defies her family’s wishes by competing in a televised competition to find the next K-pop girl group. The project is expected to be the first major American studio film shot entirely in South Korea.”

 

Worth noting that the movie has been in development for a while and it’s now obviously been helped by the success of KPop Demon Hunters. But Demon Hunters was a streaming release, this will be a theatrical release – it’s amazing… with one asterisk, LOL. The movie is a collaboration between Paramount and Hybe America which means Scooter Braun is producing. 

With Hybe at the table here, though, I wonder how many K-pop cameos we’ll see in the movie. 

What else happened today…

Dave Franco and Alison Brie are promoting a body horror movie called Together and eating hot wings together and gossiping together. (Pajiba)

 

I can’t put my finger on who Noah Cyrus looks like here. Is it Lana Del Rey? (Go Fug Yourself)

Shooter McGavin IS forever! He belongs on the list of iconic movie villains! I love this piece by Alan Siegel. (The Ringer)

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham are 100% a situationship and were a situationship long before the word entered the cultural lexicon. Their situationship is once again news – but as Olivia Craighead warns, do not take this to mean you should call the person that you should never call again. Put the f-cking phone down. (The Cut)

Venus Williams is getting married! (Celebitchy)

Photo credits: Dave Starbuck/ Future Image/ Cover Images/ Instar Images

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