KPop Demon Hunters
Netflix
Everyone has been sitting around and waiting to see what Netflix was going to do with its surprise new uber-franchise, KPop Demon Hunters, the record-shattering, musical animated project. It turns out it’s such a big hit, Netflix is still trying to process it.
A new, lengthy report from The Wrap says that after seeing records like hitting #1 on multiple music charts for its KPop tracks and becoming Netflix’s most-watched animated movie ever, that several ideas are in motion.
The first and most obvious are two sequels, rounding out a KPop Demon Hunters movie trilogy that seems inevitable, given the success of the original. But other considerations are a live-action remake of the film (I’d be curious how or if the original voice cast would be involved) or even a stage musical. Cannot say I’ve ever heard of a Netflix series being possibly turned into a stage musical before, but KPop Demon Hunters has created unprecedented times.
An interesting note is that Netflix believes they have found its “Frozen,” an iconic animated feature that will become synonymous with its brand, hence the rapid expansion. Though since this is Netflix we’re talking about, we’re measuring in hours viewed, not box office receipts. And in that department, Frozen 1 made $1.2 billion worldwide and Frozen 2 made $1.4 billion. So, same concept but a bit apples and oranges given how success is measured in the streaming era.
Kpop Demon Hunters
Netflix
As recently as the last 24 hours, KPop Demon Hunters reached its peak viewership six weeks after launch, something that has never happened before, the same way it had never happened before when it was five weeks, last week. The film benefits from charting high with its soundtrack, then having people come check out the attached film. And you can also just watch the film on repeat as a visual album of all the great tracks, the highest performing of which have been Golden by the hero band HUNTR/X and Your Idol by villain band Saja Boys. Ironically, the plot of the movie has the two competing on the charts for the soul of the world.
The film has a simple but strange concept of generations of musicians protecting the world from demons with the power of music and filling the hearts of listeners. But when demons decide to fight KPop with KPop, things begin to go awry. The film is from Sony Pictures Animation, the studio that gave us the game-changing Spider-Verse movies. One open question, one without an answer now, is how long exactly it’s going to take for these sequels and other projects to emerge, and if the hype will still be there by then.
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