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

Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times on

Published in Entertainment News

LOS ANGELES — “KPop Demon Hunters” struck gold — again.

The movie took home an Oscar for animated feature at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday. The movie’s smash hit, “Golden,” is up for original song later in the night.

“For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took so long to see us in a movie like this, but it is here. That means the next generations don’t have to go 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 provide the singing voices in the film, were in tears in the audience as the award was announced. They will take the stage Sunday to perform “Golden,” one of only two live performances from the original song category. The performance will incorporate traditional Korean instrumentalists and dance.

The movie is not new to breaking records. After premiering on Netflix in June, it became the streaming giant’s most watched movie, with more than 480 million views as of January.

 

The Oscar win caps off a successful awards season for the movie. “Golden” became the first K-pop song to take home a Grammy, winning for song written for visual media. It also snagged a Golden Globe for original song and the movie won for animated motion picture. The film also earned a Producers Guild Award for outstanding animated theatrical motion picture.

The movie, which follows fictional girl group Huntr/x as it battles evil with its punchy K-pop beats, became a cultural phenomenon, dominating streaming charts. “Golden” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for more than eight consecutive weeks.

The Huntr/x singing trio performed the breakout hit, “Golden,” for the first time on TV on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in October. Ami previously told The Times that performing at the Oscars or Grammys is “probably one of the highest accolades and achievements you can accomplish as an artist, songwriter and producer. Those are all things we have on our bucket list.”


©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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