Netflix’s latest animated film, “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” blends the high-energy world of Korean pop music with supernatural thrills, as showcased in a standout midair battle scene. (Image courtesy of Netflix)
SEOUL, July 14 (Korea Bizwire) — In a surprising twist of fiction-meets-reality, the animated musical film KPop Demon Hunters is now leading a real-world music chart takeover. The U.S.-produced Netflix original, which follows the story of a fictional K-pop girl group battling evil spirits, has delivered a soundtrack that’s anything but imaginary in its impact.
Now in its third week, the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack has climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, its highest position yet. According to Billboard’s latest report, the album rose one notch from No. 3 the previous week after debuting at No. 8 on June 20.
The soundtrack, featuring songs performed by the fictional girl group HUNTR/X, has become a breakout hit in both the U.S. and South Korea — a rare feat for a film album and an animated one at that. With 75,000 equivalent album units tallied during the latest tracking week — a 21% increase from the week prior — the album racked up a staggering 96.33 million song streams, marking the biggest streaming week for any soundtrack since Disney’s Encanto in 2022.
According to Billboard, it’s also the first soundtrack since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) to debut in the Billboard 200’s top 10 and continue to grow in its second and third weeks. It’s now one of only five movie soundtracks in the 2020s to break into the chart’s top two, joining the likes of Wicked, Barbie, and Encanto.
But the success of KPop Demon Hunters isn’t just a streaming-era anomaly — it’s a testament to how powerful K-pop’s global appeal has become, even when filtered through animation and storytelling.
In South Korea, the impact is just as potent. “Golden,” a standout anthem performed by HUNTR/X in the film, soared to No. 1 on Melon’s Top 100, beating out major real-life competitors like Allday Project’s “Famous” and aespa’s “Dirty Work.” As of Monday morning, six tracks from the soundtrack had entered Melon’s chart, including “Soda Pop” (No. 5), “Your Idol” (No. 19), “How It’s Done” (No. 54), “Takedown” (No. 93), and “Free” (No. 98).
Critics and fans alike have noted that the album doesn’t just ride the coattails of K-pop’s popularity — it embraces the genre’s high-gloss production, complex choreography, and emotional punch. From empowering ballads to dancefloor bangers, the soundtrack builds a world that feels authentic to the K-pop ecosystem, even as it tells a supernatural tale.
And the story may just be beginning. Industry observers expect multiple songs from the album to break into the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this week, signaling that KPop Demon Hunters may be less of a one-off and more of a blueprint for a new kind of multimedia pop success.
Whether it’s anime fans, K-pop stans, or just lovers of a great hook, KPop Demon Hunters seems to have cast a global spell — one hook-laden chorus at a time.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
