KPop Demon Hunters has taken the world by storm, becoming a cultural phenomenon and a strong contender for the Oscars. Let’s explore its journey.
Is ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ a Legitimate Oscar Contender?
There’s no doubt KPop Demon Hunters is a pop-culture sensation. Since Netflix’s surprise animated hit dropped two months ago, you likely can’t go a day without belting the words to its addictive single, “Golden,” or coming across various fan art, song covers, or dance challenges online. Already Netflix’s biggest original animated feature ever and the second-most-streamed English original movie of all time, the Sony Pictures Animated-produced film has achieved the rare feat of being universally beloved by critics (a 97 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences alike.
Can It Secure Oscar Nominations?
But can KPop Demon Hunters, which quickly sold out this weekend’s limited sing-along theatrical run, turn its seemingly unstoppable momentum into Oscar nominations at the 98th Academy Awards?
The short answer: absolutely.
About the Film
Directed and written by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, KPop Demon Hunters is an animated film that seems to buck every traditional awards trend. It centers on the fictional female K-pop trio Huntr/x, whose members — Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo) — secretly moonlight as demon hunters to keep a magical barrier, known as the “honmoon,” from breaking apart. Their powerful singing voices are the key to sealing off the human world from the demons that threaten to infiltrate it. Huntr/x meets their match when they face off against the Saja Boys, a rival demon boy group whose main mission is to weaken the seal and let the supernatural baddies in.
Oscar Nomination Potential
If the likelihood of an Oscar nomination was measured solely by cultural impact, KPop Demon Hunters would be the biggest shoo-in at this early stage in the Academy Awards conversation. Predicting the actual probability it has to score a nomination — where its best shots are Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (and possibly even Best Picture if the cards align) — is not as cut and dry, though the film has every cog in the awards machine working for it. Netflix’s decision to put its weight (and resources) behind the film — submitting the crowd-pleasing “Golden” for Best Original Song, for instance — helps its prospects immensely.
Musical Success
Voiced by an Asian-led cast, the film’s seven original K-pop tracks (written and produced by K-pop veterans like Teddy) have all become bona fide pop hits in their own right. “Golden” continues to top the Billboard 100 singles chart, while the soundtrack album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Other tunes, such as “Your Idol” and “Soda Pop,” continue to dominate the streaming and Billboard charts. Legitimizing the film’s overall message and execution are stamps of approval from the very K-pop idols who inspired Huntr/x and the Saja Boys, from BTS and TXT to Ateez and Twice (the latter of whom covers the original song “Takedown”), to name just a few.
Animation and Storytelling
KPop Demon Hunters has also been lauded for its bold and vivid animation, thanks in part to Sony Pictures Animation’s signature pop art style it’s become known for through the Oscar-nominated Spider-Verse movies; engaging storytelling beats; and strong, fully realized characters. In a year where the animated Oscar race is wide open, no other animated film — Pixar’s middling Elio or Chinese billion-dollar blockbuster sequel Ne Zha 2 (an A24 English release Aug. 22 with Michelle Yeoh could provide a box-office bump), for instance — has garnered as much attention as KPop Demon Hunters. That may end up playing into its favor, giving Academy voters no choice but to consider the Netflix hit more seriously when it comes time to fill out their ballots.
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Netflix’s Confidence
Netflix has such confidence in the film’s prospects that the streamer made KPop Demon Hunters one of the first features available on the Academy’s Screening Room platform for voters to watch.
The Road Ahead
For now, KPop Demon Hunters holds the key to its Oscar destiny. If it manages to ride out the second half of the year, when several high-profile animated features are slated to hit theaters (see: Scarlet, Arco, In Your Dreams, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, and Zootopia 2), there’s a very good chance it will find itself as one of the five nominees for Best Animated Feature when nominations are announced Jan. 22, 2026.
Breaking New Ground
If the nominations do break its way, KPop Demon Hunters would have the chance to be the first Asian-led film outside of Hayao Miyazaki‘s seminal Studio Ghibli to win Best Animated Feature in the two decades the statuette has been presented.
“It would be such an honor,” Cho told Gold Derby of the awards buzz surrounding KPop Demon Hunters, admitting “it’s still registering.”
“The fact that we went from making a movie that I think we all really loved and cared about to it developing into this phenomenon worldwide, to what is quickly becoming an Oscar and awards run,” Yoo said. “I’m just along for the ride and I’ll process it all after.”
