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‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Leads 2026 Annie Award Winners — Full List
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‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Leads 2026 Annie Award Winners — Full List

#Annie Awards #KPop Demon Hunters #Netflix #Animation #Best Feature #Arden Cho #Oscars #ASIFA-Hollywood

📌 Key Takeaways

  • KPop Demon Hunters won 9 total awards including Best Feature
  • The film is positioned as a likely Oscar winner
  • Arden Cho won Best Voice Acting for her performance as Rumi
  • French film 'Arco' won Best Independent Feature
  • TV's 'Common Side Effects' won 4 awards

📖 Full Retelling

Netflix's animated film 'KPop Demon Hunters' swept the 2026 Annie Awards, winning Best Feature and eight additional honors at ASIFA-Hollywood's annual ceremony held February 21 at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. The film's dominance at the prestigious animation awards, which recognize excellence across film, television, and multimedia productions, positions it as the frontrunner for the upcoming Academy Awards' Best Animated Feature category. In addition to the top honor, 'KPop Demon Hunters' claimed awards for Best FX, Best Character Animation, Best Character Design, Best Direction, Best Music, Best Production Design, Best Editorial, Best Writing, and Best Voice Acting for Arden Cho's performance as Rumi. The French animated feature 'Arco' from debut filmmaker Ugo Bienvenu won Best Independent Feature, while 'The Bad Guys 2' took home Best Storyboarding. On television, Adult Swim's thriller 'Common Side Effects' won four awards, including Best TV/Media for Mature Audiences, Best Direction, Best Writing, and Best Editorial. The ceremony also presented several juried prizes, including the Winsor McCay Award for lifetime achievement to Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Chris Sanders, and Michaël Dudok de Wit.

🏷️ Themes

Animation Awards, Netflix Success, Oscar Race, Industry Recognition

📚 Related People & Topics

Netflix

Netflix

American video streaming service

# Netflix **Netflix** is an American subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) over-the-top streaming service. It serves as the primary distribution platform for both original and acquired content, including feature films, television series, documentaries, and specials across a vast array of genres and i...

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Annie Awards

Annie Awards

Film award

The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Originally designed to celebrate lifetime or career contributi...

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KPop Demon Hunters

2025 Sony Pictures Animation film

KPop Demon Hunters is a 2025 American animated musical urban fantasy film co-written and directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. It was produced by Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix and animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks. It stars the voices of Arden Cho, Ahn Hyo-seop, May Hong, Ji-young Yo...

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Animation

Animation

Method of creating moving pictures

Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby pictures are generated or manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, spec...

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Entity Intersection Graph

Connections for Netflix:

🌐 Paramount 14 shared
👤 Donald Trump 7 shared
👤 Susan Rice 6 shared
🏢 Paramount Skydance 6 shared
🏢 Warner Bros. 5 shared
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Deep Analysis

Why It Matters

The Annie Awards are a key indicator for the Oscars' Best Animated Feature category, and KPop Demon Hunters' dominant win positions it as the frontrunner. This also highlights the continued global influence of K-pop culture and Netflix's significant role in the animation industry.

Context & Background

  • The Annie Awards are presented by ASIFA-Hollywood and honor excellence in animation
  • KPop Demon Hunters had already won major awards like the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award
  • The ceremony was held on February 21, 2026, at UCLA's Royce Hall

What Happens Next

KPop Demon Hunters is now the clear favorite to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the upcoming Academy Awards. The film's success will likely influence future animated projects blending music and genre storytelling.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Annie Awards?

The Annie Awards are annual awards presented by ASIFA-Hollywood honoring the best in animation across film, television, and other media.

How many awards did KPop Demon Hunters win?

KPop Demon Hunters won a total of nine awards, including Best Feature.

Who won the award for Best Independent Feature?

The French animated film Arco, directed by Ugo Bienvenu, won Best Independent Feature.

Original Source
Newsletters Open Menu Close Open Search Close Read Next: ‘Portobello’ Review: HBO’s Tenacious Italian Drama Asks, ‘How Much Stupidity Can One Man Endure?’ Newsletters Close Open Menu Close Open Search Search for: Search for: Close Menu Follow Us Facebook X Instagram Pinterest YouTube Alerts & Newsletters Email address to subscribe to newsletter. Subscribe By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy . We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2026 IndieWire Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Awards ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Leads 2026 Annie Award Winners — Full List The Netflix animated movie won Best Feature at the ceremony, along with eight other awards. By Wilson Chapman Wilson Chapman More stories by Wilson Obsessed with the 2026 Olympic Curling Scandal? Try the Canadian Cult Classic ‘Men with Brooms’ Read more ‘Journal with Witch’ Is the Best Anime of the Winter Read more ‘Wuthering Heights’ Isn’t Faithful to the Book. Does It Even Need to Be? — Opinion Read more February 22, 2026 12:35 am Share Share on Facebook Post Google Preferred Share on LinkedIn Show more sharing options Share to Flipboard Submit to Reddit Pin it Post to Tumblr Email Print This Page Share on WhatsApp “KPop Demon Hunters,” Netflix’s animated phenomenon , swept the 2026 Annie Awards , winning Best Feature at ASIFA-Hollywood’s annual awards ceremony recognizing the greatest animated achievements of the year. The ceremony was held February 21, at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California, and honored film , TV, and multimedia works. In addition to Best Feature, “ KPop Demon Hunters ” also won eight other awards, including Best FX, Best Character Animation, Best Character Design, Best Direction, Best Music, Best Production Design, Best Editorial, Best Writing, and...
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