The Netflix phenomenon is among 35 film features eligible for the animated feature film category at the 98th Academy Awards.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released lists of all the films eligible for animated, documentary and international feature prizes at the 2026 Oscars.
Though KPop Demon Hunters made its name on Netflix, it also received a qualifying theatrical run in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco in June, which satisfied the film academy's requirements for Oscar consideration.
Its UK theatrical run was not enough to qualify for the BAFTAs, however.
Other animated titles that qualified for the Oscars animated feature category were Neon's Arco, Disney's Elio and Zootopia 2, GKids' Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, Netflix's In Your Dreams and Crunchyroll/Sony's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc.
Notably, the Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2 was not among the 35 titles listed.
KPop Demon Hunters, which Netflix has said is its most watched film of all time, has amassed more than 541 million hours viewed worldwide.
It's the highest charting soundtrack of 2025 with eight of its songs landing on the Billboard Hot 100.
It also made a splash in US theatres in August where it was estimated to have made around $US18 million ($A28 million) (which would have topped the charts if Netflix released theatrical earnings) and got a subsequent release over Halloween weekend.
Netflix won their first animated feature Oscar in 2022 for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio.
There are also 201 documentaries and 86 international features eligible, including Sentimental Value (Norway), Sirât (Spain), The Secret Agent (Brazil), It Was Just an Accident (France), The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia) and My Father's Shadow (United Kingdom).
KPop Demon Hunters fans will have to wait for nomination day on January 22 to hear whether or not they made the cut for animated feature.
It's largely expected to be a player in the original song category as well, where Golden is among the songs being submitted.
The 98th Oscars is scheduled for March 15.
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