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Right now, KPop Demon Hunters is captivating those who watch it with a Netflix subscription, it’s breaking Netflix records, and it’s dominating the music charts. This entry on the 2025 movie schedule has taken the world by storm, and now a bunch of its songs are probably stuck in millions of people’s heads, which I love to see. Seeing all this success also reminded me of a question I asked the directors about this movie and its music: Is this a musical?
Before KPop Demon Hunters premiered on Netflix’s 2025 schedule, I had the chance to interview its directors, Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang. During that discussion, I asked them a question that could easily spark debate, which was: Is their movie a musical or a movie about music? In response, they told me it’s both; however, they came to that conclusion, especially the musical part, “reluctantly,” as Appelhans told me:
I think we would reluctantly consider it a musical now, because it was such an education for us. You had to progress the scene with every song; the lyrics needed to not repeat themselves, all while staying cool, being a good pop song, and that was really hard. We had an incredible executive music producer, Ian Eisendrath. And I think beyond his musical gifts, he’s a good storyteller, and he would ask really hard, annoying questions about, ‘Yeah, but what does this character want?’
Think about it, “Your Idol” tells us exactly how the Saja Boys are here to take everyone down by making them swoon for their music. “Takedown” literally explains and shows exactly how frustrated Huntrix is with the Saja Boys and the challenges they’re presenting. “Golden” introduces us to the girls’ vulnerable sides and their drive as artists while also being the single Huntrix releases in the film. As all musicals do, this movie’s music drives the plot forward.
Therefore, it’s a musical.
It’s also worth noting that the executive music producer the director mentioned, Ian Eisendrath, is no stranger to working on musicals. His Broadway credits for music supervision and arrangements include Diana, A Christmas Story and Come From Away. Along with that, he was the executive music producer on the live-action Snow White, and he was an executive music consultant on one of the great musicals and best movies of 2024, Wicked. So, he knows how to tell a story with music and helped do so masterfully on KPop Demon Hunters.
However, this movie isn’t just a great musical. It has great music, point blank. What they did was craft excellent pop songs that also serve as story devices. So, rather than feeling like you’re in a conventional musical, you are hearing these incredible, radio-worthy K-pop tracks that also happen to drive the narrative forward, which was the goal, as Appelhans told me:
But I think that ultimately, if we did it right, then it shouldn’t feel like a musical. It should feel like a concert film. And then you slowly realize, like, ‘Wait, this song is story,’ but never break the pop spell.
Well, they never broke that “pop spell”; if anything, they used it to get all this music stuck in everyone who watches the movie’s heads.
Need proof of that? According to Billboard, “Golden” is No. 1 on the Global 200 and No. 2 on the Hot 100, while “Soda Pop,” “Your Idol” and “How It’s Done” sit at No. 5, 6 and 7, respectively, on the Global 200. The film’s soundtrack is No. 3 on the Billboard 200. That’s not it either; many of the film’s other songs are charting too, showing the adoration this music has.
On top of that, many of the movie’s tracks have tens of millions of views on YouTube, with “Golden” sitting at 106 million.
So, I’d say this team accomplished exactly what they set out to do. They made a brilliant, and I mean brilliant, movie that uses its music to propel the story of this iconic girl group forward, which makes it a musical. However, they also created incredible pop songs that make you feel like you’re at a K-pop concert.
It really is the best of both worlds, and I think it’s one of the many reasons why KPop Demon Hunters is dominating the world right now.