Oscar Awards: 'KPop Demon Hunters' wins Academy Award for Best Animated Film

Netflix’s animated sensation 'KPop Demon Hunters' continued its awards-season dominance and struck gold at the 98th Academy Awards, by winning Best Animated Feature. The film triumphed over a competitive lineup of nominees that included 'Arco', 'Elio', 'The Character of Rain', and 'Zootopia 2'. Directed by Korean-Canadian filmmaker Maggie Kang, the animated feature has emerged as one of the biggest cultural phenomena of the year. Released by streaming giant Netflix, the film tells the story of a K-pop girl group who secretly double as demon hunters, blending K-Pop music, action and fantasy in a genre-bending narrative. The film had already built strong momentum ahead of the Oscars, earning major recognition throughout the awards season from scoring a Golden Globe and Critics Choice win. In her acceptance speech, director Maggie Kang apologized to “those of you who look like me” that it took so long for them to be represented on the screen.“This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere,” she said.Also See: Oscars 2026 Live UpdatesThe recognition continues voters' celebration of original animated stories that don't adapt existing intellectual property. Recent winners include Hayao Miyazaki's 'The Boy and the Heron' and the Latvian film 'Flow'.It's chart-topping soundtrack 'Golden' has also drawn global attention and is up for an Oscar for the Best Original Song. The song that has already scored a Grammy Award is a frontrunner to win the Oscar tonight.