Exclusive'KPop Demon Hunters' Scores Two Oscar Nominations

K-pop Demon Hunters has become one of 2025's most unlikely breakout successes. The animated film earned Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for the global hit Golden. Co-director Chris Appelhans calls the recognition an underdog story. It's an underdog story in a way. You know, Maggie's from Korea and then Toronto and dreaming of this. I grew up in a small town in Idaho, not knowing this was even a job. EJ has had an incredible origin story, and it's not like it wasn't like a studio came running to us and asked for this movie. It was this Maggie's dream. And then we all started to build on that vision. And I feel like it just speaks to the arts. They're like it can be this really beautiful meritocracy where people can develop their talents and then put them together and and make it to this place that feels, you know, really quite an honor to be on the list with all these other films. The song itself came together in an unexpected moment. It was crazy how my little voice memo in the taxi going to the dentist, literally just like me, turned into everyone being like, no, no, no, no. Like seeing it is such a well, always as a songwriter, be like the most spiritual experience ever. The Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, the 15th of March.