Netflix's 'KPop Demon Hunters' Leads Korean Interest at 2026 Oscars — Watch Live on Disney+
Korean audiences have a direct stake in this Sunday's 98th Academy Awards: Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters, the most-watched movie in the platform's history, arrives at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood with two nominations and a legitimate shot at both.
The ceremony takes place March 15 in Los Angeles - Monday morning, March 16 at 7:30 a.m. in Korea. Disney+ will carry the broadcast live in English, from red carpet through the final envelope.
KPop Demon Hunters is nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for "Golden," making it the first K-pop song ever to receive an Oscar nomination. Written by Seoul-born singer-songwriter EJAE with Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Ido, and Teddy Park, and performed in the film by the fictional girl group HUNTR/X, the track spent eight weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and 20 weeks at No. 1 on the Global 200. It swept the Critics Choice and Golden Globe awards for Best Original Song and earned multiple Grammy nominations, including Song of the Year.
The animated feature category pits KPop Demon Hunters against Disney's Zootopia 2 - the immediate frontrunner on box office alone - along with Pixar's Elio, the French indie Arco (produced by Natalie Portman), and Little Amélie or the Character of Rain. Disney also shows up in the technical races through Avatar: Fire and Ash, nominated for Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design.
Most predictions put the race down to KPop Demon Hunters and Zootopia 2, though the Academy has surprised before. Last year, Latvia's Flow - made on $3.6 million using open-source software - beat out Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot without much warning. A win for KPop Demon Hunters would be Netflix's second Best Animated Feature Oscar, after Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio in 2023.
The 98th Oscars are hosted by Conan O'Brien, returning for a second year. The ceremony airs live on ABC and Hulu in the US at 7 p.m. ET on March 15, with the Disney+ international stream beginning at 7:30 a.m. KST on March 16.
