KPop Demon Hunters truly is a phenomenon, and one that no one really saw coming. But even though in licensing almost everyone has been a little late to the party, retailers are now beginning to see the start of the product avalanche.
Some retailers were able to get clothing and dress-up out in time for Christmas, and all of it pretty much sold through immediately which demonstrates the high demand for products. As does the number of online searches for KPop Demon Hunters merchandise. Toys of course take a little longer but recent toy fairs have been full of what will be soon hitting toy shelves.
As well as being Netflix’s most watched movie ever, with to date over 500 million streams, the music has been a phenomenon, and basically launched the hottest new girl group in HUNTR/X. The most popular song from the movie, Golden, was the number one streamed song globally in 2025 (via Nielsen/ Luminate). The song also remains the top streamed song in 2026 so far, approaching 4 billion total streams.
It also had an extraordinary run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, where it held the #1 position for eight consecutive weeks. It made history as the first female K-Pop song ever to reach #1 on the chart, as well as securing the longest #1 reign of the 21st century by a female group.
The film’s soundtrack was nominated for five Grammy Awards, including “Song of the Year”. “Golden” went on to win the Grammy for best song for visual media – the first K-Pop song ever to win a Grammy.
But as toys prepare to hit shelves nearly a year after the film’s release, and so far only rumours of what new content could look like, can the momentum continue and drive toy sales?
Netflix has three out of the four biggest toy companies on board - Hasbro, Mattel & LEGO, quite a feat in itself. And sometimes you don’t need new content to sell products, if the products themselves are driving the story and excitement.
Toys give fans the opportunity to tell their own stories with the characters, and in particular LEGO allows them to engage in a deeper way through building and problem solving. Dolls will of course do incredibly well, basically Barbie versions of the most popular characters and girl group on the planet. But it is likely to be the collectibles, from Funko, Sideshow and Hot Toys, along with pins and bag clips that will help maintain the cultural presence until new content arrives.
And until then there will be tie-in versions of Uno, Monopoly, Furby, Polly Pocket and Little People to sate the appetite for everything KPop Demon Hunters.
And with social media, Netflix won’t have to make all the content themselves. Once the toys hit shelves, fans will have everything they need to make their own new shorts and content. How long until we see Furbies taught to sing along to the soundtrack? or new stories being created with the dolls and LEGO?
There may be a wait for new content but KPop Demon Hunters will likely be the biggest new IP in toys this year and there are very few movie IPs that can boast that accolade so long after the launch of the film.