How The Women Of KPop Demon Hunters Took A “Golden” Moment And Turned It Into Real Power |
Less than 10 minutes into the movie that became a global phenomenon, KPop Demon Hunters, the heroines of Huntr/x—the animated K-Pop girl band that vanquishes demons—flex their power belting out: “Run, run, we run the town, whole world playing our sound… Huntr/x, show this, how it’s done, done, done.”
The same could be said for the brilliant band of women who brought KPop Demon Hunters to life—including writer and co-director Maggie Kang, Sony Pictures producer Michelle Wong and singer-songwriter Ejae. Almost out of nowhere, this group of women created what is arguably the biggest cultural phenomenon of 2025. Less than two months after its June 20 release, KPop Demon Hunters became the most popular Netflix film ever and has now been viewed more than 325 million times.
In August, Huntr/x also became the first girl group to top the Billboard 100—with “Golden,” sung by real-life artists Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami—since Destiny’s Child topped with “Bootylicious” in 2001. By November, “Golden” reached 1 billion streams on Spotify, while the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack had been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and “Golden” garnered a Grammy Award nomination for Song of the Year. In December, the song and film also received Golden Globe nominations.
“I don't remember the last time I felt this kind of excitement for any media, any form of media,” co-director Maggie Kang told Forbes. “For an animated movie to just cross all generations and demographics… it's just been very surreal.” Born in Seoul and raised in Canada, Kang studied animation in college before going on to work for DreamWorks and Warner Animation Group. Demon Hunters marks the first time she’s served as a director on a feature film. (Sony’s Chris Appelhans was her co-writer and co-director.)
This popularity hasn’t just shaped the “global zeitgeist,” as Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters described it. Fans’ insatiable demand for all things Huntr/x and Saja Boys (for the uninitiated, that’s the demon boy band Huntr/x must defeat in the movie) has translated into real financial power, with Netflix’s third quarter revenue jumping 17% to $11.5 billion, thanks in part to Demon Hunters. In October, Netflix announced that Hasbro and Mattel would be global........