On June 20, 2025, Disney’s Pixar released its summer blockbuster, Elio, to a flop of an opening weekend. That same day, Sony Animation released K-pop Demon Hunters unassumingly on Netflix, which quickly rose to the number one movie on the platform. While Elio continued to disappoint, K-pop Demon Hunters has become a global phenomenon, topping charts everywhere. So what do these two movies tell us about the film industry right now? 

Disney has recently faced considerable criticism for its frequent sequels and live adaptations of already-told stories. The people crave new, original stories in animation. Elio was made in response to this criticism, but when it failed to be successful, Pixar criticized fans for wanting original stories but not supporting them. Meanwhile, K-pop Demon Hunters continues to grow a following, which means that a movie’s success is not as simple as whether or not it’s an original story. 

One way to look at their rates of success is how well the films were marketed. K-pop Demon Hunters was released on Netflix with virtually no marketing, and its fame grew through word-of-mouth recommendations. Any marketing involving K-pop Demon Hunters came after its rise to success and fan demand for merchandise. Elio was marketed, though briefly. Although I cannot find a budget for marketing the film, I do remember seeing some ads for it shortly before its release date. Many others, however, claim to have not known about it at all. Both movies have a relatively similar story in terms of marketing, so one cannot have flopped purely because it was not marketed well.  

Another way to look at this is through the films’ budgets. According to IMDb, Elio had an estimated budget of $150-200 million. Kpop-Demon Hunters had a budget of around $100 million, meaning it did more with a whole lot less. The mode of release should also be taken into consideration. Elio was a virtually unknown film released in theaters. Given rising prices and economic uncertainty, fewer people are willing to spend on a ticket and risk getting disappointed. K-pop Demon Hunters’ release for streaming meant that a lot more people were willing to take the chance on not liking it because they aren’t out any money if they didn’t. That being said, K-pop Demon Hunters got so popular that it was given a theatrical release, which sold out almost instantly — at least in Grand Rapids. 

All of these factors considered, only one variable is left: the heart of the story. People are hungry for original stories, especially in animation, but that doesn’t mean any story is going to do. Even if it is original, the story still has to be good. Both movies centered around a theme of self-acceptance and rising above what society deems you to be, but Elio failed to tell that story in a way that connected with the fans. I believe that if Pixar had kept some of its original plans for queer themes and a Latino focus, it could have had a more dynamic story with characters that did not fall flat. Instead, despite being an original film, Elio provided a predictable plot and generic characters. 

K-pop Demon Hunters managed to steal the hearts and souls (looking at you, Saja Boys) of the fans by giving them an engaging story, dynamic characters, and intense stakes, all while managing to give us some of the catchiest songs of the summer. The viewer is with Rumi, Mira, and Zoey the entire way, as they try to take down Gwi-ma and seal the honmoon (the barrier that will keep demons from their world forever), even when the stakes get too high and the members of Huntrix starts to succumb to their flaws. Rumi falters under the weight of being told to hide part of who she is. Mira once again believes that because of who she is, she cannot have a family, and Zoey is sucked into her belief that she is entirely too much and simultaneously not enough. Huntrix is allowed to be vulnerable, and for that, the fans love them. 

It is the journey the characters take throughout the plot that keeps fans coming back for more and lets viewers walk away with something every time they watch it. Original stories need to have more than just slightly altered character and plot conventions. They need characters that are allowed to be imperfect and different, and a plot built to test them. Huntrix proves that they know how to get it done, not only in the world of music but in the world of film through their fan connection. Honmoon sealed, in their world and ours.