International Insider: ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Are “Golden”; Venice Latest; Oscar Submissions Flood in

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here bringing you a dose of news and analysis from around the world. Read on, and sign up here.

‘KPop Demon Hunters‘ Are “Golden”

Ready for the “Takedown”?: Around 250 million of us around the world will by now have heard the ridiculously catchy hooks of KPop Demon Hunters, which has taken the world by storm. Since its June launch, KPop Demon Hunters has become almost inescapable from the zeitgeist, for both kids and adults. At the start of this week, we brought news that the singalong version was about to topple Weapons from its box office perch, despite the Sony Pictures Animation movie having been available on Netflix for ages, and by Tuesday Demon Hunters had become Netflix’s most popular film of all time, surpassing Dwayne Johnson action hit Red Notice. What appears even more impressive about the pic, which follows a group of K-Pop superstars who moonlight as demon hunters, is the audience decline figures, or lack of. Netflix has been touting the fact that week after week the movie is effectively not losing any viewers, having been watched around 26 million times now for three weeks in a row. This is quite the rarity, and will delight executives at the streamer at a time when subscriber retention is all-encompassing and co-viewing is all the rage. In terms of the box office figs, Netflix has been keeping its powder more dry. Anthony D’Alessandro reported Monday that exhibition was told by Netflix to shield its ticket sales in ComScore, so that rival studios couldn’t figure out how to compute KPop‘s box office performance. Classic Netflix. Transparency or opacity, it was no surprise later in the week when reports of a Demon Hunters sequel emerged. The movie feels like it could be the jumping off point for a serious hit-making franchise, one tapping into a global cultural demand that refuses to abate, in the form of K-Pop, coupled with some of the catchiest tunes out there. Reader, are you ready for the “Takedown”?

Venice

“Eyes of the world”: This year’s Venice Film Festival opened on Wednesday with a series of high-profile premieres. Over the first three days, top-tier auteurs like Paolo Sorrentino, Noah Baumbach, and Yorgos Lanthimos all debuted new works. However, the most engaged chatter out of Venice hasn’t included the movies. In a pre-fest interview, Venice head Alberto Barbera said he expected protests related to the Gaza conflict on the Lido, and he was right. On opening night, a press conference was held outside the event’s main venue to promote what they have described as an anti-genocide march that will take place on the Lido this Saturday. Hundreds of local political and grassroots organizations have said they will join the “Stop the Genocide in Palestine” protest. The march is not an official Biennale event. Earlier this week, in a press note, the protest group wrote, “At a time when the eyes of the world will be on Venice and the Film Festival, we have a duty to make the voices of all those who are outraged and rebelling heard.” The Gaza conflict is also present within the official Venice competition with Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab, about the killing of a six-year-old girl as her family fled Gaza City in January 2024. On Wednesday, Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Alfonso Cuaron, and Jonathan Glazer were among the Hollywood heavyweights who joined the project as executive producers. The film debuts on September 3. Other titles set to screen in the coming week include Luca Guadagnino’s After The Hunt and Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein. Venice runs until Sept 6.

More Journalists Killed In Gaza

Devastating developments: As protests took place in Venice, the killing of journalists in Gaza was not slowing. A month after major news organizations banded together to say journalists there were “facing the threat of starvation,” another five media professionals were reported to have died on Monday following strikes on the Nasser Hospital that killed 20 people. They were working for Reuters, Al Jazeera, Associated Press and other outlets. The situation in Gaza, it feels, is becoming almost too dangerous to report from, and as a reminder Israel does not let international journalists into the territory. “These murders must end now. The perpetrators must no longer be allowed to act with impunity,” said Committee To Protect Journalists Regional Director Sara Qudah, who placed the blame squarely on Israel. How this spate of killings is being interpreted differs. Leo Pearlman, who runs the LeBron James-backed powerhouse Fulwell Entertainment, posted on LinkedIn that an Al Jazeera journalist killed in a separate airstrike two weeks ago was a “Hamas operative,” views that closely align with Israel’s position but have been rebuffed by reputable organizations. Notably, Pearlman deleted his lengthy post a few hours later, citing the other journalists who were killed in Gaza this week as making him reconsider the message. Our thoughts go out to the families of those killed.

International Oscar Picks Flooding In

Succeeding Walter Salles: The Oscars may be months away, but nine submissions (and counting) have come in for best international feature since Monday and we have brought you ever single one of those vying to replicate the success of Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here, the 2025 winner. Highlights from the past few days include Taiwan’s Left Handed Girl, a buzzy Cannes pic that was co-written and edited by the man who dominated the 2025 awards, Anora director Sean Baker. With more than a few shades of Baker’s previous work, the film follows a single mother and her two daughters as they relocate to Taipei to open a night market stall. It was, meanwhile, no surprise to see Norway submit Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, with his previous film, The Worst Person in the World, having been nominated in 2021. From Tunisia comes Kaouther Ben Hania’s Gaza-set drama The Voice of Hind Rajab, while there were also picks from Japan, Canada, Jordan and others in Europe. We at Deadline love this Oscar category and will be keeping you up to date throughout the selection process. You can find them all here. Do check back regularly.

Making Ukrainian Content Amid The Air Raid Sirens

1+1 = streaming: Trying to make original content is hard enough for anyone working in this industry, but trying to do that under the constant threat of attacks from a neighboring country make things nigh on impossible. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, we’ve consistently kept you in touch with how the country’s production industry has adapted and rebuilt itself, and so Jesse sat down with Anna Gonchar, Head of Investment and Partnership Projects at the TV Business of Ukraine‘s 1+1 Media, to see how life is progressing at one of the nation’s biggest media groups. Anna revealed her team has started making streaming originals – an eye-catching move – and unveiled a number of projects, including gritty crime drama Enrique, festive season feature The Guardians of Christmas and rom-com Probation Period. Her defiance is palpable, but producing in Ukraine remains a dangerous game. The night before the much-hyped, little-achieved peace talks that Donald Trump anchored, production of Enrique was held up three times due to air raid sirens. It’s a stark reminder of what is still going on in Ukraine, as the nation’s fate lies in the hands of Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin.

The Essentials

🌶️ Hot One: Steve Pemberton has been cast as media mogul Rupert Murdoch in The Hack

🌶️ Another One: British hit Taskmaster is going day-and-date in the U.S. for the first time ever.

🪓 Breaking Baz: Kate Winslet told our Baz that she “feels great” after making her directorial debut with Goodbye June.

🏆 Awards latest: Jennifer Lawrence will be feted at San Sebastián this year.

⭐ Disruptor: Fanny Herrero, the creator of Call My Agent!, will be Deadline’s 2025 French TV Disruptor at the Rendez-Vous market next month.

🚜 ‘Succession’ with tractors: What do you get when you cross the Roy dynasty with bales of hay? Cast has been set on the latest New8 drama series out of Denmark.

🤖 Robots are coming latest: France’s newly-rebranded Elev8on Management launched an AI-powered talent assessment tool that will look to redefine how American stars fare in Europe.