'KPop Demon Hunters' takes best animated feature at 2026 Oscars

“KPop Demon Hunters” struck golden — again.

The movie took location an Oscar for animated diagnostic astatine the 98th Academy Awards connected Sunday. The movie’s smash hit, “Golden,” is up for archetypal opus aboriginal successful the night.

“For those of you who look similar me, I’m truthful atrocious that it took truthful agelong to spot america successful a movie similar this, but it is here. That means the adjacent generations don’t person to spell longing,” said Maggie Kang, the film’s co-writer and co-director. “This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere.”

Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, who supply the singing voices successful the film, were successful tears successful the assemblage arsenic the grant was announced. They volition instrumentality the signifier Sunday to execute “Golden,” 1 of lone 2 unrecorded performances from the archetypal opus category. The show volition incorporated accepted Korean instrumentalists and dance.

The movie is not caller to breaking records. After premiering connected Netflix successful June, it became the streaming giant’s astir watched movie, with much than 480 cardinal views arsenic of January.

The Oscar triumph caps disconnected a palmy awards play for the movie. “Golden” became the archetypal K-pop opus to instrumentality location a Grammy, winning for opus written for ocular media. It besides snagged a Golden Globe for archetypal opus and the movie won for animated question picture. The movie besides earned a Producers Guild Award for outstanding animated theatrical question picture.

The movie, which follows fictional miss radical Huntr/x arsenic it battles evil with its punchy K-pop beats, became a taste phenomenon, dominating streaming charts. “Golden” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for much than 8 consecutive weeks.

The Huntr/x singing trio performed the breakout hit, “Golden,” for the archetypal clip connected TV connected “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” successful October. Ami antecedently told The Times that performing astatine the Oscars oregon Grammys is “probably 1 of the highest accolades and achievements you tin execute arsenic an artist, songwriter and producer. Those are each things we person connected our bucket list.”