KPop Demon Hunters has been named by Time Magazine as Breakthrough of the Year.
A cover featuring the animated characters Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, collectively known as Huntr/x, was unveiled by Time on Tuesday, December 9 (PH time).
The publication noted that no animated film has permeated global culture this strongly since Frozen in 2013. Powered by infectious music with themes of self-love, striking visuals, and the unstoppable global momentum of Korean pop culture, the film has evolved into a true worldwide phenomenon.
Fans online were quick to react to the news.
"A magnanimous cultural moment that we are so happy to have been here for!" one fan commented.
"It was absolutely meteoric and I can't wait to see it go even further," another fan wrote.
Back on August 27, Netflix announced that KPop Demon Hunters has become the biggest film on the platform to date with with 236 million views at that time.
The animated movie centers on Huntr/x, a K-pop trio juggling their superstar lives with a hidden mission which is battling demons.
Their double life takes a dangerous turn when they clash with the Saja Boys, a rival boy group whose members are revealed to be actually demons.
KPop Demon Hunters features an all-star voice cast including Arden Cho, Ejae, Ahn Hyo-seop, Andrew Choi, May Hong, Audrey Nuna, Ji-young Yoo, Rei Ami, Joel Kim Booster, Kevin Woo, Daniel Dae Kim, Ken Jeong, Lee Byung-hun, and Lea Salonga, among others.
Produced by Sony Pictures Animation, the same studio behind the hit Spider-Verse franchise, its song from its soundtrack titled "Golden" landed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 dated August 16.
In an August interview with The Playlist, actress Arden, who is the speaking voice behind the main character Rumi, shared her reaction to the film's success.
"It's so interesting because it's sort of like happening as we speak, but I also feel like it just feels so natural and easy because it's easy to talk about a project I love. It's easy to have conversations with people that I feel like you genuinely love the movie, and it just makes people feel good. And I know that's why I became an actor. I became an actor because I love stories. I love storytelling. I want people to feel good, and I want us to escape from the stress and sadness of life and have a moment of joy. I feel so lucky to have been almost re-inspired to want to continue this grind," she stated.
Meanwhile in September, in a conversation with Hyo-seop uploaded by Netflix K-Content on YouTube, film director Maggie Kang reflected on the success of the animated film.
Maggie admitted that she didn't foresee "that a single movie could gain so much popularity."
The film director also opened up about her apprehensions when she was making the movie.
"If you're living outside of Korea and you're Korean there's kind of this, I don't know, identity crisis, you know? There's kind of this fear that you're not a 100 percent Korean and you don't really know where you belong and I kinda felt that making the movie a little bit. Like am I Korean enough to make this movie? I asked myself that," she recalled.
On the key message she wanted to impart through KPop Demon Hunters, she shared: "Everyone has something they don't like about themselves. For Jinu, it was a decision in his past. For Rumi, it was something she couldn't erase. You don't need to embrace them but just acknowledge that they're there. Finding your best self and showing it to others without any shame. The movie is about shame. Recognizing that you have shame but not letting it control your life."