Two months after “KPop Demon Hunters” debuted on Netflix, the animated action musical remains the streamer’s biggest title, even surpassing “Red Notice” to become the streamer’s most-watched English-language movie of all time.
With 236 million total views, the film’s climb to the top has been slow but steady. It also reflects what’s unique about the title, in a way that indicates why there’s no sign the phenomenon is anywhere near over.
“Demon Hunters” delivered just 9.2 million views on Netflix its first week before more than doubling its viewership to reach 24.2 million and 22.7 million views, respectively, in its second and third. It has hovered around 24-26 million views ever since, most recently reaching 25.4 million views during the week of Aug. 11.
With viewership for this past week only down 2% from the previous, the trajectory for “KPop Demon Hunters” is not one experienced by typical Netflix original movie hits, which, more often than not, make a flashy but fleeting boom.
It’s that consistency that makes the film a bit of a viewership unicorn, relative to titles that opened to a bigger audience but subsequently faded.
“Red Notice,” for example, which “KPop Demon Hunters” kicked to second place on Tuesday, debuted to a staggering 148.72 million hours viewed back in November 2021 and followed it up with 129.11 million hours in its second week. The film then dropped to 50.65 million hours in the third week, and roughly half that in its fourth.
Likewise, the Millie Bobby Brown-led action flick “Damsel” debuted to 35.3 million views and grew to 50.8 million in its second week, before dropping down to 19.5 million in its third. “Damsel” didn’t appear in the top 10 weekly movie list after its fifth week on Netflix.
Perhaps the staying power of “KPop Demon Hunters” can be best compared to “Wednesday,” which has a similar family-driven appeal. Season 1 has spent 24 weeks in Netflix’s top 10 list — viewership that boosted it to become the most-watched English-language show to date — and Season 2 has maintained its reign atop the TV list for the three weeks since its release. The remaining four episodes of Season 2 will drop Sept. 3, which will surely keep it on top for the near-future.
While Netflix does not share demographic information, it’s safe to assume “KPop Demon Hunters” has taken advantage of the power of repeat viewing by young children, similar to kids show “Ms. Rachel,” which became the seventh most-watched Netflix series in the first half of 2025 with just four episodes available.
And, of course, “KPop Demon Hunters” defies the typical viewership of Netflix’s past original animated films, which haven’t typically risen to the top of the most-watched lists, if they even enter the top 10 at all.
While its streaming reach is undeniable, “KPop Demon Hunters” also demonstrated its clout by giving Netflix its first No. 1 finish at the box office during its two-day limited run.
With a sing-along version of the movie hitting Netflix this week and a sequel also in the works, “KPop Demon Hunters” is doing anything but slowing down.
Behind Netflix’s cancellation of “The Waterfront”
Kevin Williamson’s “The Waterfront” was canceled this week, two months after its June 19 release, despite faring just as well ratings-wise comparable to series that Netflix renewed. “The Waterfront” debuted to 8.3 million views and grew to 11.6 million in its second week, ultimately staying in Netflix’s top 10 list for five weeks — outpacing viewership for renewed series “Ransom Canyon,” which scored 7.2 million and 9.4 million views, respectively, and only stayed in the top 10 for four weeks.
While “The Waterfront” scored strong enough viewership to merit another season, being produced outside of Netflix (“The Waterfront” is produced by Universal Television) might’ve pushed the standard for renewal even higher. That said, another, Universal TV-produced series, “A Man on the Inside,” didn’t reach a much bigger audience on Netflix, premiering to 6.9 million views and staying in the top 10 for five weeks.
Perhaps Universal TV comedies “A Man on the Inside” and “Four Seasons” fit into Netflix’s cozy comedy strategy better than “The Waterfront” fit into the drama slate.
“The Big Bang Theory” hits a resurgence
The Warner Bros.-produced sitcom has been slowly gearing up for a resurgence on HBO Max. The series jumped from the No. 9 slot on Nielsen’s acquired streaming shows list to No. 2 during the week of July 21, and hit No. 6 overall with 777 million minutes viewed.
The viewership bump coincides with recent news that sequel series “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” was greenlit at HBO Max.
“GMA” maintains viewership dominance
“Good Morning America” ranked as the most-watched morning newscast in total viewers for the 25th week in a row, averaging 2.57 million viewers during the week of Aug. 18. In addition to outpacing NBC’s “Today” by 183,000 total viewers, “GMA” also saw a slight uptick in viewers from the previous week.
