Tuesday, 06 January 2026
Tuesday, 06 January 2026
Animated Netflix film KPop Demon Hunters added another feather to its cap on Monday with two wins at the 31st Critics Choice Awards.
The Maggie Kang-directed movie has been on a roll since its debut in June 2025, with its track Golden topping charts globally and going on an award-winning spree.
After bagging the best song trophy at Critics Choice Awards on Monday, Golden is set to compete as one of the favourites for the Oscars. Kpop Demon Hunters also took home the Best Animated Feature title at Critics Choice, beating top contenders like Zootopia 2 (2025), Elio (2025), In Your Dreams (2025), and Arco (2025).
“The Critics Choice Awards just turned Golden,” the makers of the film wrote on Instagram, celebrating the film’s unwavering success and global fan-following.
Here’s a look at some of the milestones the film has achieved so far:
Grammy Awards nod
The song Golden, sung by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, bagged multiple nominations at the 2026 awards ceremony, including Song of the Year. The soundtrack of the film was also nominated for five Grammy awards.
Golden Globe Awards nod
It garnered nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for the track Golden at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards.
Academy Awards nomination
The song Golden was shortlisted for the Best Original Song Oscar. The film is eligible for the Best Animated Feature category.
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Kpop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Film in 2025, beating other contenders like Arco, Elio and In Your Dreams.
Most-watched movie on Netflix
KPop Demon Hunters has become the most-watched movie of all time on Netflix, surpassing the previous record-holder Red Notice, which starred Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot.
It was also the first-ever English film on the platform to remain at No. 1 overall and top the English-language movie chart even in its fifth week. It is the most-watched animated film on Netflix with 500 million streams in less than a year.
Billboard Global 200
The song Golden secured the top spot in Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. US charts, followed by the other two tracks — My Idol and Soda Pop — in the Top 10. The film’s soundtrack album was certified Platinum by the RIAA on 8 October 2025, with sales exceeding 1 million units.
KPop Demon Hunters is a 2025 animated film that centres around a girl band, Huntrix, whose members balance their double lives, moonlighting as demon hunters. The members of Huntrix face off against their nemesis, Saja Boys, whose members are secretly demons.
The film boasts a star-studded cast, bringing renowned names including Arden Cho, Ahn Hyo-seop, Lee Byung-hun and Joel Chrim Booster as voice actors.
After record-breaking success on Netflix, the animated film is likely to get a sequel, film’s director Maggie Kang, has hinted. According to US media reports, the makers of the film are already in early stage of discussion for the sequel.
