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KPOP DEMON HUNTERS A SING-ALONG EVENT FAN SURPRISE!
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“KPop Demon Hunters” just became Netflix’s most watched film

Merch. Sequels. More KPDH. Netflix execs have another big hit on their hands.

Claire Yubin Oh
Updated 9/17/25 10:33AM

Netflix’s Korean-inspired hits just keep on coming, as “KPop Demon Hunters” has become the streamer’s most watched film of all time, racking up 314 million views since its June 20 release. 

In just over two months, Netflix and Sony Pictures animated musical has surpassed “Red Notice,” the 2021 Ryan Reynolds film that previously held the record with 231 million views in its first 91 days.

Despite a slightly shorter run time, “KPDH” has also now taken the title of "most hours viewed" with a whopping 524 million hours on its record since its release.

Kpop demon hunters popularity chart
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That’s on top of scoring the theatre-averse streamer’s first box office No. 1 thanks to a sing-along version of the movie.

My little (revenue) pop

Unlike other movies on Netflix’s ranks that peak in their first week of release before slowing down, “KPDH” has gained popularity a little more steadily, raking in an average of 43 million hours viewed in the last three weeks of data reported. That unusual staying power is in part thanks to millions of kids who are reportedly watching the movie six to eight times on average (or even more for some) — an enthusiastic audience that’s frequently driving the top of the charts in the world of TV, too.

Alongside a flurry of celebrations around the film’s Billboard chart performance and potential Oscar ambitions, Netflix shareholders will be pleased to know that the streamer also owns the film’s merchandising rights. Naturally, they’re already talking about a sequel.

Update (September 17 2025): This article has been updated to reflect Netflix's latest data.

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The most popular male and female names in the US, according to the latest Census

New data published Tuesday by the US Census Bureau has revealed the most common names provided in the 2020 Census, in the first release to include forename data since 1990.

As described in the brief, Michael was the most popular name for males in the US, with roughly 3.5 million American men reporting having this name or a close variant. This is up from fourth place in the 1990 Census, when the top US male name was James — though there were still 3 million Jameses in 2020’s tally.

Despite a three-decade gap, Mary remained the top name for American females in both censuses, with the 2020 survey counting almost 1.8 million females with this given name. Interestingly, Mary was one of just two predominantly female names that broke the top 10 given names in the US, with the overall list dominated mostly by male monikers.

Most popular names US census 2020 chart
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In all, American females had far more first-name diversity than male counterparts: 16% of US males had one of the top 10 most frequent names among men, compared with 7.8% of women. Zooming out, almost 3x as many given names were needed to cover a quarter of the US female population than that of males.

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6 months after hiking Game Pass prices by 50%, Xbox determines it may be too expensive

Microsoft’s new Xbox chief, Asha Sharma, thinks the division’s recent price hikes have been a mistake, per an internal memo to employees seen by The Verge.

“Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation,” Sharma’s memo reportedly read.

It’s an interesting take, given that Xbox hiked the price of its Game Pass subscription by 50% in October, before Sharma took over. The memo is a signal that Sharma’s tenure — which began in February, taking the industry by surprise — will include some big changes for Microsoft’s gaming strategy.

Whether Game Pass prices will drop is not yet clear. Last month, The Information reported that Sharma and Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters have “kicked around ideas” about potential bundles. That would fit with Netflix’s renewed gaming ambitions.

Xbox Game Pass Chartr
(Sherwood News)

It’s an interesting take, given that Xbox hiked the price of its Game Pass subscription by 50% in October, before Sharma took over. The memo is a signal that Sharma’s tenure — which began in February, taking the industry by surprise — will include some big changes for Microsoft’s gaming strategy.

Whether Game Pass prices will drop is not yet clear. Last month, The Information reported that Sharma and Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters have “kicked around ideas” about potential bundles. That would fit with Netflix’s renewed gaming ambitions.

Xbox Game Pass Chartr
(Sherwood News)

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