Netflix wanted to beat Disney in family animation. ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ is its best chance

“We want to beat Disney in family animation,” then Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in an interview in September 2020.

At the time, anyone would say that was a tall order. Disney has almost a century of experience of producing animated films, dating back to 1937′s “Snow White.”

Since then, the studio has produced hits that many kids would be familiar with. Think “Cinderella,” “Alice in Wonderland” and “Sleeping Beauty.” Add to that Pixar’s “Toy Story,” “The Incredibles” and “Inside Out” and it’s not hard to see that Hastings had his work cut out for him.

And then came the massively popular “Frozen,” the animated musical that was not only the highest-grossing animated film of all time from 2013 to 2019, but whose merchandise and songs were in every toy store, Disney theme park, and car media system when the kids wanted their 30th replay of “Let it Go.”

But now, Mr Hastings — now Netflix executive chairman — may finally have his goal in sight.

That comes in the form of “KPop Demon Hunters,” a family-friendly animated musical adventure about a world-famous K-pop group trying to save the world from demons.

How it’s done (done, done)

The film, released on June 20, has made streaming, music and movie history on the platform. It has become Netflix’s most-viewed animated film of all time, and its second-most viewed movie ever.

According to numbers from Netflix, the film has amassed more than 184 million views since its release.

The film’s success also extended to music charts. On Tuesday, the song “Golden” from the film topped the Billboard Hot 100, the ninth song associated with K-pop to conquer the Hot 100 — and the first by female lead vocalists, according to Billboard.

In the UK, “Golden” became the first K-pop song to hit No. 1 on the Official UK Singles Chart in 13 years, following PSY’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012.

Statistics that Spotify provided to CNBC revealed that the movie’s soundtrack has counted over 46 million monthly listeners as of Tuesday, and the album has topped Spotify’s Weekly Top Albums Global Chart for every full week since its release, barring a dip to No. 2 for the week of July 17.

“KPop Demon Hunters” was released with a single trailer, a far cry in terms of marketing compared with “Squid Game 3,” which was out a week later and had a slew of publicity events, social media marketing, and even live appearances from the actors promoting the series.

Iltaek Hong, lead editor at Spotify Korea, told CNBC that “K-Pop is more than just music. It’s a rich cultural experience built around sound, storytelling, performance and deep artist-fan connections.”

“That’s exactly what K-Pop Demon Hunters captures, and it’s why both the film and its music have resonated so strongly with global audiences,” he added.

Going up, up, up

But animated musical movies are not new, so what makes “KPop Demon Hunters” stand out? What fueled its millions of views, week after week?

Bernie Cho, president of South Korean artist services agency DFSB Kollective, explained that while the film did not have much marketing on traditional media, it was gaining popularity on social media.

“The movie played into the K-pop playbook of viral videos, of infectious memes, user-generated content. People basically promoted the movie because of its originality and its authenticity. No different than a K-pop boy band or a girl band,” he said.The film has spawned hundreds of shorts on YouTube, from highlights to dance challenges, and even covers of the soundtrack by active K-pop idols.

Spotify’s Mr Hong said that level of interaction is what makes K-pop unique and the film’s soundtrack stand out. “It’s not just being listened to, it’s being lived.”

“K-pop Demon Hunters was art imitating life that was imitating art,” Cho quipped, referencing the plot point of how Huntr/x — the K-pop group in the movie — draw their power to seal demons from their fans. Cho worked on the film as a music licensing consultant.

In an illustration of that full circle, Billboard even came out with their list of top 5 covers of “Golden” from K-pop idols.

Director Maggie Kang had said the K-pop groups in the movie were inspired by a multitude of artists, and Cho said, “You have K-pop artists that inspired the movie, now reinterpreting their favourite parts, their favourite scenes, their favourite dance moves, their favourite tracks.”

Gonna be, gonna be, golden

But it’s not about the views and streams alone — “KPop Demon Hunters” gives Netflix “their first real, organic, mega hit animated franchise,” said Brandon Katz, director of insights and content strategy at Greenlight Analytics.

That gives them the opportunity to show that the platform can develop and expand this intellectual property at the same level as Disney, he added.

For starters, Netflix has moved quickly to extend the longevity of the film’s influence. The studio has announced a “sing-along event” for US and UK audiences in selected theatres later in August, and the merchandise page for “KPop Demon Hunters” has 187 products, more than Squid Game 3′s 139 products.

An exclusive report from The Wrap on July 31 revealed that Netflix has more plans, and is considering two sequels, a short film and a stage musical for the franchise.

It is important to develop he emotional ties an audience has with a piece of IP, Katz said, “because the more emotionally invested they are in a franchise, the greater the likelihood that they’ll spend money on it.”

“KPop Demon Hunters” has been Netflix’s “biggest home run” in original animated movie-making, Katz said.

The way Netflix responds to this phenomenon — such as how it crafts a long-lasting franchise across multiple distribution pathways and how it captures consumer spending — will be critical to maximising the potential of the film, he added.

“It is a potential gold mine. Can Netflix mine all that gold out? That’s the question.”