Page 1 of 1
1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:09 pm
by domino harvey
Few films have taken the world by storm quite like KPop Demon Hunters, an Academy Award–winning sensation overflowing with dazzling animation, unforgettable characters, and tenaciously catchy songs. At the film’s center is the chart-topping girl group HUNTR/X, whose three members—Rumi, Mira, and Zoey—have been busy juggling the pressures of stardom with their secret duty to shield their fans from supernatural forces. When their demon enemies suddenly take the form of a rival boy band, the trio must overcome their deepest self-doubts and use their music to protect humanity. Richly layered with references to Korean culture both ancient and modern, this generation-bridging phenomenon has inspired millions of fans with its message of friendship and self-acceptance.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
New 4K digital master, approved by directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features
Full feature-length animatic, with a new introduction by Kang and Appelhans
New making-of documentary
Two video essays by filmmakers Taylor Ramos & Tony Zhou (Every Frame a Painting)
Lyric videos
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and English descriptive audio
Collectible postcards featuring original illustrations by artists who worked on the film
PLUS: An essay by critic Karen Han
New cover by Ami Thompson
Re: 1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:18 pm
by ryannichols7
the first Criterion title, 1333 spines in, to have its own McDonald's meal
Re: 1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:21 pm
by Mr.DarjeelingLimited
ryannichols7 wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:18 pm
the first Criterion title, 1333 spines in, to have its own McDonald's meal
Wall•E had em in June 2008
Re: 1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:25 pm
by Mr.DarjeelingLimited
Mr.DarjeelingLimited wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:21 pm
ryannichols7 wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:18 pm
the first Criterion title, 1333 spines in, to have its own McDonald's meal
Wall•E had em in June 2008
Edit, I’m wrong he was included in a line of Disney toys.
Re: 1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:27 pm
by ryannichols7
Mr.DarjeelingLimited wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:25 pm
Mr.DarjeelingLimited wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:21 pm
ryannichols7 wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 4:18 pm
the first Criterion title, 1333 spines in, to have its own McDonald's meal
Wall•E had em in June 2008
Edit, I’m wrong he was included in a line of Disney toys.
plus if he'd had his own full meal, it would've gone against that movie pretty directly
great packaging on
K-Pop Demon Hunters. I will probably get this, why not?
Re: 1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 5:30 pm
by CSM126
At the barest minimum this looks like a very nice gift for fans of the film. I still haven’t gotten around to watching it despite having a Netflix account. Maybe I’ll fit it in my kevyip somewhere.
Re: 1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 5:38 pm
by DimitriL
Even though K-Pop is its own kind of phenomenon, anything to help spur Criterion develop their animation line is worth supporting.
Re: 1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 10:14 pm
by domino harvey
There will be a DVD only release of this one as well, the first since Captain Blood?
Re: 1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 10:55 pm
by ryannichols7
domino harvey wrote: Fri Aug 14, 2026 10:14 pm
There will be a DVD only release of this one as well, the first since Captain Blood?
Frankenstein, all Netflix titles will probably always have DVDs
Barnes and Noble is probably rejoicing today that their Q4 sales are gonna be up this year thanks to this title alone
Re: 1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2026 11:32 pm
by feihong
I thought this movie could have had something to say, but what was there thematically came out very garbled. The songs were catchy, it looked okay, the character beats were either omitted or they just didn't hit at all. On top of that, the visuals splashed on the screen pretty hard, but they didn't evolve, or grow out of what was happening in the drama of the film very often, and so after the initial appearance of the derpy tiger the film seemed visually pretty well exhausted of inspiration. Considering it had a very similar central theme, Turning Red did it all with more inspiration, more fun, and that film came together about a million times better than Kpop Demon Hunters.
That said, I'm not surprised this did well. It celebrates a phenomenon people are already way into, making the superficial, jingoistic deployment of character, themes and even just moments within the story easier to ignore. To me there are just so many missed opportunities to make this tighter and more rewarding to watch. So for me it fits the Criterion lineup in the same way as something like Armaggedon; I hope it makes them the money they need to release things like Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, but it seems substantially off-brand to me.
Re: 1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2026 1:59 am
by hearthesilence
It wasn't for me, but it's clearly going to go down in pop music history as THE K-pop movie of its time (or I guess right now). I really wish it was better, like a lot better, but there's no getting around the fact that it's a cultural event. Even if it's riding on a genre that's already big, it's not based on a pre-existing story, characters or any of K-pop's biggest acts - just making a K-pop animated film is no guarantee it'll be big, so kudos to them for making a massive hit out of newly created elements.
Re: 1333 KPop Demon Hunters
Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2026 2:03 am
by domino harvey
It is the biggest thing to happen to kids since Frozen and it functionally IS Frozen for these kids since this is their generation’s big movie. Even with reduced physical media buying habits this will be a massive money maker for Criterion and they clearly have some kind of first look deal with Netflix because I’m sure literally every label and Netflix themselves would fall over themselves to release this. Sony selling this to Netflix for a fast buck has to be up there with Blockbuster not buying Netflix and Yahoo not buying Google on the Bad Ideas List