TIME names KPop Demon Hunters 2025 Breakthrough of the Year

TIME Magazine has named "KPop Demon Hunters" as its 2025 Breakthrough of the Year, noting its global cultural impact since "Frozen" in 2013.

The animated film, featuring the K-pop girl group HUNTR/X, has achieved widespread success with its music, visuals, and integration into the broader Korean cultural wave.

TIME highlighted the film's appeal through its "cool girls in sick costumes, singing full-throated anthems about self-acceptance that also happen to be instant earworms, matched by inventive, vibrant visuals."

Despite lacking bankable stars and a reported budget of around $100 million, the film became Netflix's biggest to date with 236 million views.

The film's success is seen as a potential catalyst for more big-budget, female-oriented action movies in Hollywood.

Notable personalities have expressed admiration for the film, and cast members have made appearances on popular television shows like "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" and "Saturday Night Live."