Maggie Kang de Toronto can be sitting in the most popular film of the year, which until Tuesday obtained 236 million visits, more broadcasts than any other Netflix movie. And she may have launched that juggernaut streamer Firstly successful Theatrical launch, with singing projections scheduled for fans shouting throughout the world.
But that does not mean KPOP demon hunters It was always sure.
“You really don’t expect this type of reaction,” Kang told CBC Radio P with Tom Power last week. “Honestly, I didn’t think it was possible for a movie to be so popular, really.”
That is because from studies to streamers to StansThe idea that an animated musical about a non -American musical genre, apparently hyperspecific, would not do much numbers was not in the cards.
That does not mean that Kang was ambivalent about the project. After working as a graphic script artist for 20 years, she and coguionist Chris Appelhans were passionate enough for her idea that crosses the genre to present her to the friend and producer Aron Warner. As I was in Sony working in the animated movie. Wish DragonHe had asked him to share an idea for a project.
The Canadian animated film Maggie Kang Kpop Demon Hunters has become a global sensation with record transmissions in Netflix and an estimated debut of $ 20 million on the big screen.
“Then, one day, my son slept in the rear seat, and my husband and me … we conducted for the neighborhood and this idea occurred to him,” Kang said. “And it is really a combination of a lot of some ideas that I had been reflecting. And it became KPOP demon hunters“
For those who have managed to get lost since its premiere on June 20 in Netflix, the film follows the adventures of Rumi, Mira and Zoey. They are the three members of the K-Pop Girls Group (Korean Pop) Hunt/X, a super popular act charging the popularity of the real life of the pop culture of South Korea.
But not only make music for fans, but they also combat demons that eat soul, although they are mostly maintained from the human world by a magical barrier (The Honmonon) reinforced by the song. The success of Gasso/X in pop hunting and the demon is threatened when a band of demons, the Saja boys, usurpes their fame, everything while Rumi tries to hide his own demonic ancestry of fans and even bandmates.
It is a giant that Sony originally transmitted, opting for an unprecedented relationship with Netflix where the transmission service basically operated as a distributor and investor, while Sony helped in production. The reason, said Kang In an interview with AnklerIt was due to the alienating specificities of the plot: from the K-Pop aspect to the cast of all Asians, selling KPOP demon hunters For an American audience it was not exactly a safe thing.
Billboard Smash
But when tracking the impressive success of the movie, you don’t need to look beyond the songs. The film’s soundtrack is the First to publish four simultaneous successes of Billboard Top 10. As it is done, Your idol, Soda and the success No.1 current Golden I have spent weeks dominating the lists, while turning Gass/X into the first K-Pop Girl group to overcome Hot 100.
“The film is only about 90 minutes and the soundtrack totals about 30 minutes. Therefore, one third of the film has to be the music that is being reproduced,” said the journalist of culture and entertainment Daniel Anderson.
He said that the focus on the musical component of the film, which requires collaboration between the K-Pop superstars, including Blackpink, Meovv, Ejae, under the direction of the music producer Ian Eisendrath, is part of what was launched KPOP demon hunters In the stratosphere.
“It is a combination of very, very intelligent and experienced song composers who understand K-pop, but also that they know how to weave that in this story that they are trying to tell,” Anderson said.
But what really attracted people, he said, is the specificity and originality of his narrative. While the plot itself is not completely unique, gathering so many different interests in a crucible captivated the public. Instead of being too divisive to attract fans, he introduced those fans a variety of interests, while based on the propensity of the K-Pop Fandom to share Memes, Fan Art and publications on social networks to attract more attention to their favorite releases.
“It is really incredible to see that these types of seemingly disparate elements join in such a applied success,” Anderson said. “Because if anyone knows how to make something viral, they are K-Pop fans.”
Theatrical success
All that success led to something new for a Netflix movie: a theatrical release after it had already been released in the transmission service. Rival studies on Sunday estimated that KPOP demon hunters He led all films during the weekend with an estimated $ 18 million to $ 20 million in the sale of tickets in theaters of the United States and Canada.
The distribution executives of three studies shared their estimates for the Netflix phenomenon on anonymity because the transmission company has the policy of not informing ticket sales, Associated Press reported.
After a few more dominant weeks as one of the most popular Netflix releases in history, the streamer put the film in 1,750 theaters for singing projections on Saturdays and Sundays. Studies can accurately estimate tickets for all launches on Sunday morning, although the rare nature of the KPOP demon hunters Releases means a broader variation.
The theatrical launch, although limited, is out of the ordinary for Netflix, which has long emphasized a commitment to subscriber releases. But it is feeding with the fame of the film and, Anderson said, will probably only lead to greater success.
“We have not even begun to see the end because it is also eligible for the awards dispute in places like the Oscars and in the Grammys too,” he said. “So, you know, in this awards season too, I think we are going to see more campaign of them. And I would not be surprised if we also see that some more milestones are broken.”
“It is very, very well positioned in terms of awards because the animation is really absolutely beautiful,” Rachel Ho’s film criticism said. So much so, he said, that KPOP demon hunters It can function as a kind of “plane” for future films: first launch in transmission services before developing viral fame in successful theatrical residences.
But when it comes to Demon hunters Specifically, she said that her success was perhaps not as unlikely as predicted. Because if Kang himself found success or not, it was probably inevitable that something extracted from the same source material became a box office success in a society in love with K-Pop.
“We are seeing … a general popularity of Korean pop culture,” Ho said. “Then, either through music or dramas, even novels … This is a kind of culmination of that success that has been growing over the years.”
