KPOP DEMON HUNTERS. Characters (L-R) Mira, Rumi, and Zoey are seen in a scene from KPop Demon Hunters. Netflix has said KPop Demon Hunters is its most watched film of all time and has amassed more than 541 million hours viewed worldwide. (Netflix via AP)

Pictured are characters (L-R) Zoey, Rumi, and Mira in a scene from KPop Demon Hunters. (Netflix via AP)

From The Asian Reporter, V35, #12 (December 1, 2025), pages 1 & 13.

By Lindsey Bahr

AP Film Writer

KPop Demon Hunters is one step closer to another golden moment: The Oscars. The Netflix phenomenon is among 35 film features eligible for the animated feature film category at the 98th Academy Awards.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last month released lists of all the films eligible for animated, documentary, and international feature prizes at next year’s Oscars.

Though KPop Demon Hunters made its name on Netflix, it also received a qualifying theatrical run in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in June, which satisfied the film academy’s requirements for Oscar consideration. Its U.K. theatrical run was not enough to qualify for the BAFTAs, however.

Other animated titles that qualified for the Oscars animated feature category were Neon’s Arco, Disney’s Elio and Zootopia 2, GKids’ Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, Netflix’s In Your Dreams, and Crunchyroll/Sony’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc. Notably, the Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2 was not among the 35 titles listed.

KPop Demon Hunters, which Netflix has said is its most watched film of all time, has amassed more than 541 million hours viewed worldwide. It’s the highest charting soundtrack of 2025 with eight of its songs landing on the Billboard Hot 100. It also made a splash in theaters in August where it was estimated to have made around $18 million (which would have topped the charts if Netflix released theatrical earnings) and got a subsequent release over Halloween weekend. Netflix won their first animated feature Oscar in 2022 for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.

There are also 201 documentaries and 86 international features eligible, including Sentimental Value (Norway), Sirât (Spain), The Secret Agent (Brazil), It Was Just an Accident (France), The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia), and My Father’s Shadow (United Kingdom). 2000 Meters to Andriivka, a co-production between The AP and PBS Frontline, is eligible in both categories. Both documentary and international titles will be winnowed to a 10-film shortlist that will be revealed on December 16.

KPop Demon Hunters fans will have to wait for nomination morning on January 22 to hear whether or not they made the cut for animated feature. It’s largely expected to be a player in the original song category as well, where Golden is among the songs being submitted.

The 98th Oscars will air live on ABC on March 15 at 4:00pm.

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