'kpop Demon Hunters' Had A Big Night At The Oscars. Could It Be A New Day For Asian Movies?

It has been a genuinely aureate twelvemonth for “KPop Demon Hunters.”

From sold-out theatrical singalongs and caller streaming records to a dependable drumbeat of accolades, nan Netflix movie capped disconnected its awards play Sunday pinch Academy Awards for animated feature and original song.

But for head Maggie Kang, nan movie was ne'er conscionable astir nan awards.

In her acceptance reside Sunday night, nan Korean-Canadian head tearfully honored viewers from nan Korean diaspora passim nan world.

“For those of you who look for illustration me, I’m truthful sorry that it took america truthful agelong to spot america successful a movie for illustration this,” she said to thunderous applause successful nan Dolby Theatre. “But it is here, and that intends that nan adjacent generations don’t person to spell longing. This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere.”

On Monday afternoon, Kang said astir nan effect she hopes nan movie has connected Hollywood.

“This movie was considered arsenic really a large risk, and that’s really sad,” she said. “I deliberation group conscionable want to spot different stories, and truthful I dream that this tin promote large studios to ... return these risks, because there’s immense reward erstwhile risks are taken. So I’m afloat expecting much movies from different taste voices to travel retired of nan occurrence of ours.”

Past animated films person depicted Asian cultures, but usually pinch little specificity, she said.

“I wanted to spot a movie astir Korea that reflected Korea now, nan measurement that I cognize it now, and really I knew it increasing up,” Kang said. “And I wanted to show our civilization precisely really it is.”

As Kang noted, “KPop Demon Hunters,” astir a trio of K-pop singers who usage euphony to conflict demons, was successful mostly because of its culturally circumstantial storytelling.

The movie has nods to accepted Korean people coating successful nan characters of Derpy, a bluish florescent tiger, and Sussie, a three-eyed bird. There are homages to Korean artists who contributed to nan emergence of modern K-pop, arsenic good arsenic a humorous infinitesimal astir ramyeon, nan celebrated Korean instant noodles.

“It’s not explaining nan history of Korea aliases nan history of K-pop — it’s presenting it organically,” character Ken Jeong, who voices 1 of nan characters successful nan film, said successful a telephone past week. “It’s a very transnational, which is really global, Korean communicative that unites some Eastern and Western hemispheres together.”

The movie benefited from nan mainstream fame of K-pop and accrued its world entreaty by casting members of nan Korean diaspora, specified arsenic Korean American character Arden Cho and Korean-Canadian character Ahn Hyo-seop, alongside South Korean prima Lee Byung-hun.

That helped nan film, which was produced by Sony Pictures Animation, go a worldwide hit. It has fans successful North America, arsenic good arsenic successful South Korea, wherever celebrated K-pop singers person posted videos of themselves dancing to “Soda Pop,” a catchy tune from nan movie. South Korean fig skater Lee Haein moreover performed an accumulation programme astatine nan Winter Olympics to a mashup of songs from nan film’s soundtrack. A sequel to nan movie has already been greenlighted.

In nan U.S., “KPop Demon Hunters” was nan most-streamed movie of 2025, garnering 20.5 cardinal viewing minutes, according to Nielsen. Netflix doesn’t stock container agency results, but an manufacture root estimated that nan movie pulled successful astir $23 cardinal successful summons income complete nan 5 days it played successful theaters.

“The American audience, nan world audience, they’re wholly tin of loving and enjoying and appreciating stories from immoderate culture,” said Chris Appelhans, who directed nan movie pinch Kang. “The hesitation that Hollywood has had that a movie can’t beryllium really large and incredibly specific, culturally, I conscionable think, sorry, that’s not true.”

Hollywood has had a checkered history pinch Asian representation, to put it mildly. For decades, Asian American actors struggled to get jobs because they were not considered container agency draws, said Nancy Wang Yuen, a professor astatine Crafton Hills College who studies title and ethnicity successful film.

Decades passed betwixt releases of modern Hollywood films pinch mostly Asian and Asian American casts — aft 1961’s “Flower Drum Song,” you don’t get “Joy Luck Club” until 1993 and past “Crazy Rich Asians” successful 2018. Studios person besides formed achromatic actors successful Asian roles, including successful films for illustration 2015’s “Aloha” and 2017’s “Ghost successful nan Shell.”

But since “Crazy Rich Asians,” a dependable watercourse of critically acclaimed Asian American films pinch humble budgets person debuted, including 2020’s “Minari,” 2022’s Oscar-winning “Everything Everywhere All astatine Once” and 2023’s “Past Lives.”

That has besides extended to streaming shows and films. Netflix, successful particular, has had a years-long effort to strategize astir Asian contented and audiences, Yuen said.

The streaming elephantine has released productions ranging from adaptations of Jenny Han’s young big novels, “To All nan Boys I’ve Loved Before,” which halfway connected a Korean American girl’s attempts astatine romance, to “Never Have I Ever,” which focuses connected an Indian American teen’s precocious schoolhouse escapades, and nan South Korean bid “Squid Game.”

The institution has besides released Asian animated bid for illustration “Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld.”

“KPop Demon Hunters,” however, “was nan 1 that hit,” she said.

Simu Liu, who played nan lead domiciled successful Disney and Marvel Studios’ “Shang Chi and nan Legend of nan Ten Rings,” has called retired Hollywood for its deficiency of practice connected screen, posting connected societal media precocious past year that “studios deliberation we’re ‘risky.’”

And earlier this month, a UCLA study found that gender and group practice successful nan apical English-language theatrical films dipped past year.

“I dream that nan group who are empowered to greenlight films thin into taste specificity and authenticity,” said Kymber Lim, laminitis and executive head of nan nonprofit defense group Korean American Leaders successful Hollywood, which has honored Kang for her activity connected nan film. “That really is what helps group to understand different cultures and study astir them.”

The occurrence of “KPop Demon Hunters” has fixed dream to young filmmakers, for illustration USC student Lana Do, 20.

Do, who grew up successful Hanoi, leads a field nine for Asian American and Pacific Islander students pursuing careers successful filmmaking.

Last summer, she attended 1 of nan film’s singalong screenings and said it was empowering to spot a theatre filled pinch group of each ages and backgrounds dancing to a movie centered astir Asian civilization and music.

She said she hopes that studios are “opening up to ... greenlight a batch much Asian-backed stories conscionable because they spot that ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ is simply a impervious of success.”

Kang has said that she made “KPop Demon Hunters” for her 13-year-old aforesaid who longed to spot much practice successful Hollywood films. She remembers really impactful it was to watch Lucy Liu connected nan large surface successful 2000’s “Charlie’s Angels.”

“To spot Lucy Liu win connected that level successful Hollywood, arsenic a woman who grew up successful nan outskirts of Seoul, increasing up successful Toronto, it really fto maine judge that I could make it successful Hollywood, too,” Kang said. “The effect of that practice was immense for me, truthful I dream that this movie tin beryllium that for different girls, too.”

A aureate nighttime for Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. besides had a large nighttime connected Sunday, tying nan record for astir wins for a workplace successful a azygous nighttime pinch 11 Academy Awards.

The workplace won six Academy Awards for “One Battle After Another” and 4 awards for “Sinners.”

Notable among nan accolades was Michael B. Jordan’s Academy Award for lead character for his dual roles arsenic twins successful “Sinners,” “One Battle After Another’s” triumph for champion image and Amy Madigan’s triumph for supporting character successful “Weapons.”

The accolades travel astatine an uncertain clip for Warner Bros., arsenic it awaits its acquisition by Paramount Skydance.

Stuff we wrote

Film shoots

Number of nan week

New films from Universal Pictures will now beryllium successful theaters for astatine slightest 5 weekends, a reversal from nan studio’s pandemic-era argumentation of astatine slightest 17 days.

Focus Features, Universal Pictures’ specialty movie arm, will support its existing theatrical exclusivity policies, which alteration connected a case-by-case basis. Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” for example, was successful theaters for 99 days, while 2024’s “Nosferatu” played for 58 days. The minimum is 17 days.

The magnitude of clip films are disposable exclusively successful theaters — known arsenic “windowing” successful manufacture motto — has go a contentious taxable of speech successful Hollywood.

Theater owners person based on that shorter theatrical windows person trim into container agency gross and promote audiences to hold to watch films astatine home. Some distributors, however, contend that erstwhile a movie taps retired connected its theatrical earning potential, moving it to at-home viewing helps its profitability.

What I’m watching

I yet started catching up connected nan caller play of “Bridgerton” and was thrilled to spot Katie Leung of “Harry Potter” fame playing nan formidable Lady Araminta Gun.