CJ ENM's K-drama box office hit in the global OTT market

Sep 11, 2025

CJ ENM is strengthening its position as a global IP powerhouse by continuing the success of K-dramas in the global OTT platform market.

According to CJ ENM on the 11th, Studio Dragon's romantic comedy 『The Tyrant's Chef" has been drawing attention for two consecutive weeks, ranking second on the global TV show (non-English speaking) chart immediately after Netflix's release. On the 8th, it was on Netflix's U.S. Top 10 chart. Entering the U.S. chart is a meaningful indicator that K-drama's influence has proven its competitiveness in the U.S. market, the world's largest OTT battleground.

CJ ENM's major works, such as 「Someday, the Life of a Slugul Major」,"Unknown Seoul',"He Is a Black Salt Dragon',"Gyeonwoo and Seonnyeo", and"Seochodong", also topped global OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Rakuten Vicky in the first half of this year, proving the popularity and potential of K contents.

The key to this success is to attract global viewers by expanding Korean materials and emotions such as chaebol, K shamanism, and growth narratives to various genres such as romantic comedies, fantasy, medical, and courtroom. CJ ENM's leading production studios, including Studio Dragon, CJ ENM STUDIOS, and Eggs Coming, which introduced these works, further solidified the global influence of K contents based on premium planning and production capabilities.

Planned by CJ ENM STUDIOS and produced by Eggs Coming with the spin-off of 'Wise Doctor Life', 'Someday, the Life of a Major' was listed on Netflix's global TV show (non-English speaking) TOP 10 chart for seven consecutive weeks immediately after the first broadcast, and ranked first in six countries, including Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, making it into the Top 10 of 18 countries.

Studio Dragon's plan 'Unknown Seoul', which contains the romance and growth narrative of twin sisters, ranked third for six consecutive weeks in the Netflix Global TV Show (non-English speaking) TOP 10. As of the first week of July, it recorded more than 140 million cumulative viewing hours, proving its hot global popularity.

Studio Dragon, which combines Korean shamanism with fresh teenage romance, ranked second in the world in the Amazon Prime Video TV Show category and ranked first in more than eight countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Egypt, making it to the top 10 in 52 countries.

Studio Dragon's planned office romance 'He's a Black Dragon' has captured global fandom by topping Rakuten Vicky's weekly rankings in 136 countries, including the United States, Brazil, Mexico, France, Australia, and India. It also topped the Korean drama category on leading OTT platforms such as Japan's U-Next, Indonesia's Video, and Vietnam's FPT Play.

CJ ENM STUDIOS' legal office 'Seochodong' entered the top 5 in 144 countries, including the United States, Brazil, France, the United Arab Emirates, and India based on Rakuten Vicky. In particular, tvN Asia ranked No. 1 on the channel for two consecutive weeks in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, achieving the highest performance among tvN dramas this year. About 20,000 Malaysian fans gathered at the 'Star Tour' event held in Kuala Lumpur last month to further realize their popularity.

A CJ ENM official said, "'Wonkyung', 'Study Group', 'A week before I die' were also highly praised in the global market, confirming once again that K-content's originality works throughout the world"In the future, we will continue to present various works containing Korean materials and emotions to global viewers. "

Meanwhile, CJ ENM plans to further accelerate the global box office of K-drama in the second half of the year, starting with 'Chef of the Tyrant'. Only three days after its first broadcast on August 23rd, "Chef of the Tyrant" ranked No. 1 in Netflix's global TV show based on Flick Patrol, setting a new record as the first Netflix non-original K-drama to be No. 1. In addition, CJ ENM plans to expand its global K-content fandom by releasing expected works in the second half of the year, such as 'Taepung Corporation', 'New President Project', and 'Yammy Love'.

star77@sportschosun.com