KPop Demon Hunters Hits 300 Million Views on Netflix

KPop Demon Hunters has become the first title on Netflix to pass 300 million views. The Sony Pictures Animation film, directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, reached the mark according to Netflix’s own site, Tudum.

As of September 17 the movie had recorded 314.2 million views, a number Netflix reaches by dividing 523.6 million total hours watched by the film’s 100 minute runtime. That is the highest figure of any film or show in the platform’s history.

It had already taken the global top spot two weeks earlier, moving ahead of Squid Game season 1 and its 265.2 million views. Netflix builds its most watched list from cumulative views over the first 91 days after a release.

The film’s run has been remarkable elsewhere too. After its Sing Along event opened in 1,700 theaters and earned 19.2 million dollars in late August, it became the first Netflix film to top the United States weekend box office. Four of its soundtrack songs landed in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 at the same time, something no other soundtrack had managed.

It has stayed in Netflix’s Top 10 for English language films for 13 straight weeks, and reached No. 1 in 39 countries, among them the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Argentina, Egypt, Malaysia and Qatar.

My take: Numbers like these are easy to glaze over, but an animated musical pulling this kind of crowd says a lot about how hungry people are for something fresh and joyful. I am happy to see it land.