At this point the question is not whether "KPop Demon Hunters" will win the Oscar. It is whether anything can stop it.
{img}Netflix's animated hit won the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Animated Feature on Saturday night in Los Angeles, beating out "The Bad Guys 2," "Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle," "Elio" and "Zootopia 2." Producer Michelle Wong accepted the prize at the Fairmont Century Plaza, adding another major trophy to a collection that has been building since January.
The PGA win matters because the guild has a strong track record as a predictor in the animated category. Fourteen of the past 20 PGA winners in animation went on to win the Oscar. The membership of more than 8,400 producers across film and television represents a broad cross-section of industry support, and when that group lines up behind a film this decisively, it tends to mean something.
The awards run leading up to this point has been almost uninterrupted. At the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards in January, the film won both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for "Golden." In February it swept the Annie Awards the animation industry's most prestigious honors taking all 10 categories for which it was nominated, including Best Feature, Best Direction, and Best Voice Acting for Arden Cho. "Golden" separately won the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media on February 1.
{img}Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, the Sony Pictures Animation production was released on Netflix in June 2025 and has since become the platform's most-watched title of all time with over 500 million views. A sing-along theatrical run last summer grossed $19 million in the US and Canada, making it the first Netflix release to top the domestic box office.
The competition at the Oscars is real but manageable. "Zootopia 2" won the BAFTA and crossed $1 billion at the global box office, but sequels have historically had a difficult time winning in the animated category at the Academy Awards. "Elio" earned 10 Annie nominations but underperformed commercially and received mixed reviews.
The one major awards body where "KPop Demon Hunters" did not compete was BAFTA. Its British theatrical release came two months after it began streaming, which fell short of eligibility requirements.
{img}The 98th Academy Awards are on March 16 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The film is nominated for both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.