Netflix Animated Hits That Opened Bigger Than KPop Demon Hunters

Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters now stand as the platform’s most-viewed English-language films of all time (based on first 91 days view count). However, during its opening week, it fell behind previous and new animated hits that had bigger openings than the Sony Pictures Animation feature.

KPop Demon Hunters generated just 9.2M views in its debut week, whereas Leo, Netflix’s biggest animated movie debut, generated 34.6M views within its first six days on the platform. Other movies like The Sea Beast and Swapped now fall among the most-viewed animated movies in the opening week, surpassing KPop Demon Hunters.

Here are five Netflix animated movies that posted bigger opening-week viewership numbers than KPop Demon Hunters. However, they failed to build long-term dominance.

5. Orion and the Dark (2024)

Orion and the Dark debuted on Netflix on Feb 2, 2024, posting an opening week just over KPop Demon Hunters' views. The movie, produced by DreamWorks Animation and written by Charlie Kaufman, generated 10M views in its first seven days on Netflix.

Orion and the Dark follows an anxious elementary schooler, Orion (played by Jacob Tremblay), who confronts his fears alongside the physical embodiment of darkness itself (portrayed by Paul Walter Hauser).

4. Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)

Aardman Animations' long-awaited Chicken Run sequel arrived on Netflix on Dec 15, 2023, carrying 23 years of franchise nostalgia into a heist-movie premise. The sequel drew 11.9M views in its first three days, eventually ranking among the top 100 most-watched titles on the platform (July to December 2023).

Featuring Thandiwe Newton as Ginger and Zachary Levi as Rocky, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget introduced Bella Ramsey as Molly, and leveraged the franchise’s legacy to deliver a strong debut performance.

3. Swapped (2026)

Skydance Animation's Swapped opened with 15.5M views in its first three days. The movie premiered on May 1, 2026, and reached 38.7M views during its second week. The body-swap comedy stars Michael B. Jordan and Juno Temple as woodland creatures swapped into each other's bodies.

2. The Sea Beast (2022)

Directed by Chris Williams, whose credits include Big Hero 6 and Moana, The Sea Beast was released on Netflix on July 8, 2022. The movie generated approximately 17.5M views in its opening three days, nearly double of KPop Demon Hunters' debut figure.

The Sea Beast film accumulated a total of 20.8M views on Netflix and ranked among the top 100 most viewed titles on the platform, for the period of July to December 2023.

1. Leo (2023)

Directed by Adam Sandler, Leo, which released on Nov 17, 2023, still holds the all-time record for animated Netflix debuts with 34.6M views in its first week. The movie follows an aging class pet lizard who imparts life lessons to fifth graders, a premise that turned the movie into a streaming success. Leo ranked third with 96M views on the same engagement report, as the most viewed animated title.

These animated movies are examples that a bigger first week does not always translate to a bigger cultural impact. KPop Demon Hunters’ 540M views (613M views, as per some reports) were accumulated over a year.

The movie became a cultural and streaming phenomenon with multiple records and prestigious awards. KPop Demon Hunters swept 2026 awards seasons with two Academy Awards and two Critics Choice Awards. The title track, Golden, ranked on Billboard and also won a Grammy Award in the Best Song Written for Visual Media category.