How 'KPop Demon Hunters' became the surprise hit of summer

In the colorful, animated, musical world of "KPop Demon Hunters," everyone is a fan.

- 

The general public rocks T-shirts supporting their favorite idols. They hold light sticks and stare starry-eyed at stadium stages; they scream, they cry, they cheer, they buy the merch.

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, then, that the Sony Pictures/Netflix film itself has inspired similar fanfare, having topped the streamer's global rankings. Fans have flooded the internet with art, covers, cosplay and choreography in response to the movie, which follows the fictional K-pop girl group HUNTR/X as they fight demons.

And it's not just the film that's a summer hit. The "KPop Demon Hunters" soundtrack has topped the charts debuting at No. 1 on Billboard's Soundtracks chart and No. 8 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

Here's how "KPop Demon Hunters" became the year's surprising success story.

Musical tradition and K-pop are honored