The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack has made an impressive leap from third to second place on the prestigious Billboard 200 chart dated July 19, marking a remarkable new peak in its third week on the list. This album achieved an impressive total of 75,000 equivalent album units during the tracking week ending July 10, reflecting a 21% increase in sales in the United States, as reported by Luminate. Notably, this soundtrack is the first of its kind to debut within the top ten of the Billboard 200 and then experience an increase in units sold during its second and third weeks, a feat last accomplished by the Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2 album back in 2017.
Throughout the 2020s, there have only been four soundtracks that have successfully ascended to the top two positions on the Billboard 200: KPop Demon Hunters, Wicked (which debuted and peaked at No. 2 in 2024), Barbie (also debuted and peaked at No. 2 in 2023), and Encanto (which remarkably spent nine weeks at No. 1 in 2022). This limited company highlights the cultural significance and commercial success of the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack within the contemporary music landscape.
The Billboard 200 chart serves as a comprehensive ranking of the most popular albums in the United States for the week, determined by various metrics of consumption, as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. These units are a blend of album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit is equal to one album sale, or the equivalent of ten individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported streams or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The complete chart for July 19, 2025, will be available on Billboard’s website on July 15.
Within the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack’s remarkable total of 75,000 units earned in its third week, a significant portion of these units—specifically 70,000—are attributed to streaming equivalent albums (SEA), which indicates a 24% increase, translating to an astounding 96.33 million on-demand official streams of the soundtrack’s songs. This impressive figure has allowed the album to maintain its position at No. 2 on the Top Streaming Albums chart. Additionally, album sales contributed 4,000 units (a 6% decrease) as it rose from 21 to 9 on the Top Album Sales chart, while TEA units accounted for 1,000 units (up by 6%). Currently, the album is only available as a digital download, with a physical CD edition set to be released in August and a vinyl edition expected in October.
As the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack accumulated a remarkable 96.33 million streams for its tracks during its third week, it achieved the highest streaming week for a soundtrack in over three years. The previous soundtrack to surpass this streaming figure was Encanto, which achieved 101.16 million streams for its songs during its eighth week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated March 12, 2022. This milestone underscores the growing popularity and cultural impact of soundtracks within the current music scene.
The KPop Demon Hunters made its debut on June 20 through a limited theatrical release in the United States, coinciding with its soundtrack launch on Netflix. In the tracking week ending July 6, the film maintained its impressive position at No. 2 in its third week on the Netflix Top 10 Movies in the United States chart, reflecting its popularity and the positive reception it has received from audiences. This dual success of the film and its accompanying soundtrack exemplifies the powerful synergy between cinema and music in contemporary entertainment.
