“We want to beat Disney in family animation,” then Netflix CEO Reed Hastings stated in an interview in September 2020. At the time, anybody would say that was a tall order. Disney has virtually a century of expertise of manufacturing animated movies, courting again to 1937’s “Snow White.” Since then, the studio has produced hits that many children can be conversant in. Think “Cinderella,” “Alice in Wonderland” and “Sleeping Beauty.” Add to that Pixar’s “Toy Story,” “The Incredibles” and “Inside Out” and it isn’t laborious to see that Hastings had his work lower out for him. And then got here the massively in style “Frozen,” the animated musical that was not solely the highest-grossing animated movie of all time from 2013 to 2019, however whose merchandise and songs have been in each toy retailer, Disney theme park, and automotive media system when the youngsters wished their thirtieth replay of “Let it Go.” But now, Hastings — now Netflix govt chairman — could lastly have his purpose in sight. That comes in the type of “KPop Demon Hunters,” a family-friendly animated musical journey a few world-famous Ok-pop group making an attempt to save lots of the world from demons. How it is completed (completed, completed) The movie, launched on June 20, has made streaming, music and film historical past on the platform. It has develop into Netflix’s most-viewed animated movie of all time, and its second-most seen film ever. According to numbers from Netflix, the movie has amassed greater than 184 million views since its launch. The movie’s success additionally prolonged to music charts. On Tuesday, the track “Golden” from the movie topped the Billboard Hot 100 , the ninth track related to Ok-pop to beat the Hot 100 — and the primary by feminine lead vocalists, in response to Billboard. In the U.Ok., “Golden” grew to become the primary Ok-pop track to hit No. 1 on the Official UK Singles Chart in 13 years, following PSY’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012. Statistics that Spotify supplied to CNBC revealed that the film’s soundtrack has counted over 46 million month-to-month listeners as of Tuesday, and the album has topped Spotify’s Weekly Top Albums Global Chart for each full week because the week of July 3, barring a dip to No. 2 for the week of July 17. “KPop Demon Hunters” was launched with a single trailer, a far cry in phrases of promoting in contrast with “Squid Game 3,” which was out per week later and had a slew of publicity occasions, social media advertising, and even reside appearances from the actors selling the collection. Iltaek Hong, lead editor at Spotify Korea, advised 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 films usually are not new, so what makes “KPop Demon Hunters” stand out? What fueled its thousands and thousands of views, week after week? Bernie Cho, president of South Korean artist providers company DFSB Kollective, defined that whereas the movie didn’t have a lot advertising on conventional media, it was gaining recognition on social media. OkPop Demon Hunters was artwork imitating life that was imitating artwork. President, DFSB Kollective Bernie Cho “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 stated. The movie has spawned a whole bunch of shorts on YouTube, from highlights to bounce challenges, and even covers of the soundtrack by energetic Ok-pop idols. Spotify’s Hong stated that degree of interplay is what makes Ok-pop distinctive and the movie’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 level of how Huntr/x — the Ok-pop group in the film — draw their energy to seal demons from their followers. Cho labored on the movie as a music licensing marketing consultant. In an illustration of that full circle, Billboard even got here out with their record of high 5 covers of “Golden” from Ok-pop idols. Director Maggie Kang had stated the Ok-pop teams in the film have been impressed by a large number of artists, and Cho stated, “You have K-pop artists that inspired the movie, now reinterpreting their favorite parts, their favorite scenes, their favorite dance moves, their favorite tracks.” Gonna be, gonna be, golden “It is a potential gold mine. Can Netflix mine all that gold out? That’s the question.” director of insights and content material technique, Greenlight Analytics Brandon Katz But it isn’t in regards to the views and streams alone — “KPop Demon Hunters” provides Netflix “their first real, organic, mega hit animated franchise,” stated Brandon Katz, director of insights and content material technique at Greenlight Analytics. That provides them the chance to indicate that the platform can develop and broaden this mental property on the similar degree of Disney, he added. For starters, Netflix has moved shortly to increase the longevity of the movie’s affect. The studio has introduced a “sing-along event” for U.S. and U.Ok. audiences in chosen theaters later in August, and the merchandise web page for “KPop Demon Hunters” has 187 merchandise, greater than Squid Game 3’s 139 merchandise. An unique report from The Wrap on July 31 revealed that Netflix has extra plans, and is contemplating two sequels, a brief movie and a stage musical for the franchise. It is necessary to develop he emotional ties an viewers has with a chunk of IP, Katz stated, “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 unique animated movie-making, Katz stated. The approach Netflix responds to this phenomenon — similar to the way it crafts a long-lasting franchise throughout a number of distribution pathways and the way it captures client spending — can be essential to maximizing the potential of the movie, he added. “It is a potential gold mine. Can Netflix mine all that gold out? That’s the question.”