'Demon Hunters' dethrones 'Squid Game' as most-watched title on Netflix

The U.S. animated film has amassed 266 million views, becoming the most-watched content on Netflix across both film and television categories.

"KPop Demon Hunters," an action-adventure centered on a fictional K-pop group called Huntr/x, overtook both the first season of South Korea's global phenomenon "Squid Game" and the U.S. series "Wednesday" in cumulative viewership.

Just two weeks ago, "KPop Demon Hunters" ranked third behind "Squid Game" Season 1 (265.2 million views) and "Wednesday" (252.1 million views). Its rise marks a milestone, as it has broken viewership records set by titles released during the COVID-19 pandemic when online streaming was at a peak.

In the film category, it has also become the most-watched movie of all time on Netflix, unseating the 2021 action thriller "Red Notice," starring Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds.

Netflix calculates its rankings based on cumulative viewership over a title's first 91 days. Released on June 20, "KPop Demon Hunters" still has two weeks left in that period and is expected to retain its top spot.

The film tells the story of Huntr/x, who use their music to fight off evil spirits. It has received praise for its unique combination of K-pop culture and elements of Korean shamanism. "Golden," a song from the movie's soundtrack, has also been a commercial success, topping the Billboard's Hot 100 main singles chart for three weeks.

Special sing-along screenings of the film were held in U.S. theaters on Aug. 23-24, with a sing-along version also released on Netflix.

To note, "Squid Game" Season 3 dominated Netflix's weekly charts by a significant margin early July. The third and final season of the Korean original show claimed the top spot of Netflix's non-English chart, drawing a staggering 60 million views during the June 23-29 period.