Year’s biggest Netflix hit is now the streamer’s most-watched movie ever

KPop Demon Hunters has become a runaway hit since it was released on Netflix in late June, with its soundtrack taking over the music charts too. Here in Australia, the soundtrack sits atop the ARIA albums chart and six of the top 10 songs on the ARIA singles chart are from the movie.

Four songs from the film sit inside the US Billboard Hot 100 top 10, among them breakout smash Golden in the top spot. 

The film also became a box office smash when it had a limited global cinema run last weekend, with families flocking to special “Singalong” sessions. 

Variety estimated that the film would’ve earned Netflix $US20 million from just two days in American cinemas – not bad for a film that had already been freely available for anyone with a Netflix subscription to watch for the past two months. 

But it seems fans of the movie had been clamouring to enjoy it in a communal setting. 

“Went today in Australia with my 7 year old. It was honestly the most wholesome, adorable experience I’ve had. The entire theatre sung their hearts out. Plenty of swooning for the first appearance of the Saja Boys. I just loved the lack of self consciousness and the obvious display of joy,” one viewer wrote on Reddit after the special screenings.

“Just got out of my 1:30pm session in Brisbane! Lyrics on screen Kids (under 10s) in Cosplay! CHILLS when Rumi started singing and everyone else joined her,” another wrote.

“Went yesterday in australia and there was over 200 people. It was mixed with kids adults and teens and all of them sang golden, sodapop, and what it sounds like the loudest. When the movie ended all the kids went to the front and started doing gymnastics to take-down,” a third added.

Meanwhile, earlier this month Netflix served up news of another price hike for those subscribed to the platform.

Account holders on Netflix’s two standard plans will now be slugged an extra $2 per month, with the cheapest Netflix option, ‘Standard with ads,’ rising from $7.99 to $9.99 per month.

The standard, ad-free plan will rise from $18.99 to $20.99 per month.

Netflix’s premium plan will see the steepest increase, up $3 per month from $25.99 to $28.99.

There’s also been a $1 price hike across the board to add an extra member to any of the plans.

Netflix last increased its prices in May 2024 – before that, the premium plan was $22.99, meaning users on this plan have seen a 26 per cent price increase over the past 15 months.