But for director Maggie Kang, the film was never just about the awards.<\/p>\n
In her acceptance speech Sunday night, the Korean-Canadian director tearfully honored viewers from the Korean diaspora throughout the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor those of you who look like me, I\u2019m so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this,\u201d she said to thunderous applause in the Dolby Theatre. \u201cBut it is here, and that means that the next generations don\u2019t have to go longing. This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday afternoon, Kang spoke about the effect she hopes the movie has on Hollywood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis movie was considered as really a big risk, and that\u2019s really sad,\u201d she said. \u201cI think people just want to see different stories, and so I hope that this can encourage big studios to … take these risks, because there\u2019s huge reward when risks are taken. So I\u2019m fully expecting more movies from different cultural voices to come out of the success of ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Past animated films have depicted Asian cultures, but usually with less specificity, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to see a movie about Korea that reflected Korea now, the way that I know it now, and how I knew it growing up,\u201d Kang said. \u201cAnd I wanted to show our culture exactly how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Kang noted, \u201cKPop Demon Hunters,\u201d about a trio of K-pop singers who use music to battle demons, was successful largely because of its culturally specific storytelling<\/a>.<\/p>\n You\u2019re reading the Wide Shot <\/p>\n Samantha Masunaga delivers the latest news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production \u2014 and what it all means for the future.<\/p>\n By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service<\/a> and our Privacy Policy<\/a>. <\/p>\n The film has nods to traditional Korean folk painting in the characters of Derpy, a blue florescent tiger, and Sussie, a three-eyed bird. There are homages to Korean artists who contributed to the rise of contemporary K-pop, as well as a humorous moment around ramyeon, the popular Korean instant noodles.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not explaining the history of Korea or the history of K-pop \u2014 it\u2019s presenting it organically,\u201d actor Ken Jeong, who voices one of the characters in the film, said in a call last week. \u201cIt\u2019s a very transnational, which is really global, Korean story that unites both Eastern and Western hemispheres together.\u201d<\/p>\n The film benefited from the mainstream popularity of K-pop and increased its global appeal by casting members of the Korean diaspora, such as Korean American actor Arden Cho and Korean-Canadian actor Ahn Hyo-seop, alongside South Korean star Lee Byung-hun.<\/p>\n That helped the film, which was produced by Sony Pictures Animation, become a worldwide hit. It has fans in North America, as well as in South Korea, where popular K-pop singers have posted videos of themselves dancing to \u201cSoda Pop,\u201d a catchy tune from the movie. South Korean figure skater Lee Haein even performed an exhibition program at the Winter Olympics to a mashup of songs from the film\u2019s soundtrack. A sequel to the film has already been greenlighted. <\/p>\n In the U.S., \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d was the most-streamed movie of 2025, garnering 20.5 billion viewing minutes, according to Nielsen. Netflix doesn\u2019t share box office results, but an industry source estimated that the film pulled in about $23 million in ticket sales over the five days it played in theaters.<\/p>\n \u201cThe American audience, the global audience, they\u2019re completely capable of loving and enjoying and appreciating stories from any culture,\u201d said Chris Appelhans, who directed the film with Kang. \u201cThe hesitation that Hollywood has had that a movie can\u2019t be really big and incredibly specific, culturally, I just think, sorry, that\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n Hollywood has had a checkered history with Asian representation, to put it mildly. For decades, Asian American actors struggled to get jobs because they were not considered box office draws, said Nancy Wang Yuen, a professor at Crafton Hills College who studies race and ethnicity in film. <\/p>\n Decades passed between releases of contemporary Hollywood films with majority Asian and Asian American casts \u2014 after 1961\u2019s \u201cFlower Drum Song,\u201d you don\u2019t get \u201cJoy Luck Club\u201d until 1993 and then \u201cCrazy Rich Asians\u201d in 2018. Studios have also cast white actors in Asian roles, including in films like 2015\u2019s \u201cAloha\u201d and 2017\u2019s \u201cGhost in the Shell.\u201d<\/p>\n But since \u201cCrazy Rich Asians,\u201d a steady stream of critically acclaimed Asian American films with modest budgets have debuted, including 2020\u2019s \u201cMinari,\u201d 2022\u2019s Oscar-winning \u201cEverything Everywhere All at Once\u201d and 2023\u2019s \u201cPast Lives.\u201d<\/p>\n That has also extended to streaming shows and films. Netflix, in particular, has had a years-long effort to strategize around Asian content and audiences, Yuen said.<\/p>\n The streaming giant has released productions ranging from adaptations of Jenny Han\u2019s young adult novels, \u201cTo All the Boys I\u2019ve Loved Before,\u201d which center on a Korean American girl\u2019s attempts at romance, to \u201cNever Have I Ever,\u201d which focuses on an Indian American teen\u2019s high school escapades, and the South Korean series \u201cSquid Game.\u201d<\/p>\n The company has also released Asian animated series like \u201cJentry Chau vs. The Underworld.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cKPop Demon Hunters,\u201d however, \u201cwas the one that hit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Simu Liu, who played the lead role in Disney and Marvel Studios\u2019 \u201cShang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,\u201d has called out Hollywood for its lack of representation on screen, posting on social media late last year<\/a> that \u201cstudios think we\u2019re \u2018risky.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n And earlier this month, a UCLA study found<\/a> that gender and racial representation in the top English-language theatrical films dipped last year. <\/p>\n \u201cI hope that the people who are empowered to greenlight films lean into cultural specificity and authenticity,\u201d said Kymber Lim, founder and executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Korean American Leaders in Hollywood, which has honored Kang for her work on the film. \u201cThat really is what helps people to understand other cultures and learn about them.\u201d<\/p>\n The success of \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d has given hope to young filmmakers, like USC student Lana Do, 20.<\/p>\n Do, who grew up in Hanoi, leads a campus club for Asian American and Pacific Islander students pursuing careers in filmmaking.<\/p>\n Last summer, she attended one of the film\u2019s singalong screenings and said it was empowering to see a theater filled with people of all ages and backgrounds dancing to a movie centered around Asian culture and music.<\/p>\n She said she hopes that studios are \u201copening up to … greenlight a lot more Asian-backed stories just because they see that \u2018KPop Demon Hunters\u2019 is a proof of success.\u201d<\/p>\n Kang has said that she made \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d for her 13-year-old self who longed to see more representation in Hollywood films. She remembers how impactful it was to watch Lucy Liu on the big screen in 2000\u2019s \u201cCharlie\u2019s Angels.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo see Lucy Liu succeed on that level in Hollywood, as a girl who grew up in the outskirts of Seoul, growing up in Toronto, it really let me believe that I could make it in Hollywood, too,\u201d Kang said. \u201cThe impact of that representation was huge for me, so I hope that this movie can be that for other girls, too.\u201d<\/p>\n A golden night for Warner Bros.<\/p>\n
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