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|Box Office - admissions (www.cine21.com & www.kobis.or.kr)
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The film "MAL-MO-E: The Secret Mission" has attracted over 1 million viewers in less than a week since its release on Jan. 9...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2019.01.11 ~ 2019.01.13
The number one movie this week is "MAL-MO-E: The Secret Mission" (말모이)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2019.01.04 ~ 2019.01.06
The number one movie this week is "Ralph Breaks the Internet"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.12.28 ~ 2018.12.30
The number one movie this week is "Aquaman"...More
The new movie "Take Point" beat all Hollywood blockbusters and came in on top of the box office...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.12.21 ~ 2018.12.23
The number one movie this week is "Aquaman"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.12.14 ~ 2018.12.16
The number one movie this week is "Bohemian Rhapsody"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.12.07 ~ 2018.12.09
The number one movie this week is "Default" (국가부도의 날)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.11.30 ~ 2018.12.02
The number one movie this week is "Default" (국가부도의 날)...More
A Korean comedy and a Queen bio-pic have made November a strong month at the box office here by drawing more than 5 million viewers over about a month after their release on the same day...More
The number one movie this week is "Bohemian Rhapsody)"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.11.15 ~ 2018.11.18
The number one movie this week is "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald"...More
"Intimate Strangers" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" are first and second in the Box Office.
According to the Films Commission, "Intimate Strangers" topped the Box Office on the 11th with 367,364 viewers. The accumulated figure is 3,375,745 viewers...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.11.09 ~ 2018.11.11
The number one movie this week is "Intimate Strangers" (완벽한 타인)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.11.02 ~ 2018.11.04
The number one movie this week is "Intimate Strangers" (완벽한 타인)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.10.26 ~ 2018.10.28
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.10.19 ~ 2018.10.21
The number one movie this week is "First Man"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.10.12 ~ 2018.10.14
The number one movie this week is "Dark Figure of Crime" (암수살인)...More
The number one movie this week is "Venom"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.09.28 ~ 2018.09.30
The number one movie this week is "The Great Battle" (안시성)...More
"The Great Battle" attracted over 3 million viewers as of Wednesday as the historical action film swept the box office during Chuseok or Korean Thanksgiving...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.09.21 ~ 2018.09.23
The number one movie this week is "The Great Battle" (안시성)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.09.14 ~ 2018.09.16
The number one movie this week is "Searching"...More
The number one movie this week is "Searching"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.08.31 ~ 2018.09.02
The number one movie this week is "On Your Wedding Day" (너의 결혼식)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.08.24 ~ 2018.08.26
The number one movie this week is "On Your Wedding Day" (너의 결혼식)...More
Park Bo-young and Kim Young-gwang's "On Your Wedding Day" topped the Box Office.
According to the Korean Films Commission, "On Your Wedding Day" came in first with an accumulative viewership of 130,339 on the 22nd alone...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.08.17 ~ 2018.08.19
The number one movie this week is "The Witness" (목격자)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.08.10 ~ 2018.08.12
The number one movie this week is "Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days" (신과함께-인과 연)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.08.03 ~ 2018.08.05
The number one movie this week is "Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days" (신과함께-인과 연)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.07.27 ~ 2018.07.29
The number one movie this week is "Mission:Impossible- Fallout"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.07.20 ~ 2018.07.22
The number one movie this week is "Incredibles 2"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.07.13 ~ 2018.07.15
The number one movie this week is "Ant-Man and the Wasp"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.07.06 ~ 2018.07.08
The number one movie this week is "Ant-Man and the Wasp"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.06.29 ~ 2018.07.01
The number one movie this week is "The Witch : Part 1. The Subversion" (마녀)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.06.22 ~ 2018.06.24
The number one movie this week is "The Accidental Detective 2: In Action" (탐정: 리턴즈)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.06.15 ~ 2018.06.17
The number one movie this week is "The Accidental Detective 2: In Action" (탐정: 리턴즈)...More
The movie "The Accidental Detective 2: In Action" topped the Box Office.
According to the Korean Film Commission, "The Accidental Detective 2: In Action" came in first with 92,298 audiences. It started off in second place on the 13th when it was first released, but it only took a day to top the charts...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.06.08 ~ 2018.06.10
The number one movie this week is "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.06.01 ~ 2018.06.03
The number one movie this week is "Believer" (독전)...More
The movie "Believer" is in the lead with over 2.4 million audience members. "Dead Pool 2" comes next with 3,340,000 million viewers - it's the highest ranking adult rated Marvel movie yet...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.05.25 ~ 2018.05.27
The number one movie this week is "Believer" (독전)...More
"Believer" is at the top of the Box Office...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.05.18 ~ 2018.05.20
The number one movie this week is "Deadpool 2"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.05.11 ~ 2018.05.13
The number one movie this week is "Avengers: Infinity War"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.05.04 ~ 2018.05.06
The number one movie this week is "Avengers: Infinity War"...More
Two actors and their films set out to challenge Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War" and they are Ma Dong-seok with "Champion" and Yoo Hae-jin with "LOVE+SLING"...More
2018/04/30 | Permalink
Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War" arrives and rules...
Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War", one of the most anticipated films of the year, hit Korea last Wednesday across a massive 2,553 screens nationwide. The nineteenth film in the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which began with "Iron Man" almost exactly a decade ago, captured an unprecedented 95.11% of the sales over the last weekend of April...More
2018/04/23 | Permalink
"Rampage" reigns while local documentary "Intention" rises...
The Rock's "Rampage" remained unmoved at the top of the pile over the second last weekend of April. The film, based on the classic video game by Midway Games, arrived in the Land of the Morning Calm two weeks ago. From 886 screens nationwide, "Rampage" claimed 34.17% of the sales (363,703 admissions, or $3 million) and moved its total tally to 1.2 million: $10.2 million. Worldwide, director Brad Peyton's action adventure film has earned just over a quarter of a billion US dollars (the film was produced for $120 million)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.04.20 ~ 2018.04.22
The number one movie this week is "Rampage"...More
2018/04/16 | Permalink
The Rock's "Rampage" rules...
Jeong Beom-sik's sleeper hit "Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum" was denied a third-straight week at the top of the pile with the arrival of "Rampage" and John Krasinski's "A Quiet Place". Based on the video game series by Midway, "Rampage" follows a primatologist (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) and an albino gorilla who, due to rogue experiments by a greedy genetics company, grows to King Kong proportions. The film arrived in Korea last Thursday and claimed pole position over the weekend with 608,122 admissions ($4.9 million, or 35.19%) from 909 screens...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.04.13 ~ 2018.04.15
The number one movie this week is "Rampage"...More
"What a Man Wants" is on top of the box office.
According to the Korean Film Commission, "What a Man Wants" came in first with a daily record of 58,910 and an accumulation of 787,642...More
2018/04/09 | Permalink
Local horror narrowly retains pole position amid stiff competition...
The low-budget horror "Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum" by director Jeong Beom-sik managed to hold off serious challenges from both "Ready Player One" and the recently released local comedy-drama "What a Man Wants" to retain the top stop. Jeong's surprise hit outplayed Steven Spielberg's adaption last weekend with 40% of the sales (983,018 admissions), and with the 513,673 (27%) admissions the film scored here, its total tally now stands at 2.2 million ($16.7 million)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.04.06 ~ 2018.04.08
The number one movie this week is "Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum" (곤지암)...More
2018/04/02 | Permalink
"Gonjiam" rises and outplays "Ready Player One" over Easter weekend...
Jeong Beom-sik's "Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum" enjoyed a successful limited release last weekend (fifth with 54,780 admissions) and has risen to the top of the chart following its official released last Wednesday. From 1,124 screens around the country, "Gonjiam", Jeong's second feature-length film as the sole director after "Casa Amor, Exclusive for Ladies" (2015), earned 39.62% of the sales, or 983,045 admissions ($7.6 million). The local horror/mystery managed to outplay Steven Spielberg's action-packed adaptation "Ready Player One"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.03.30 ~ 2018.04.01
The number one movie this week is "Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum" (곤지암)...More
"Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum" topped the Box Office on the day of its release.
According to the Korean Film Commission, "Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum" came in first with 195,600 audience members in a day and has accumulated 263,683...More
2018/03/26 | Permalink
"Pacific Rim" sequel narrowly outplays local drama "Be with You"...
Director Steven S. DeKnight's "Pacific Rim: Uprising", the sequel to Guillermo del Toro's 2013 kaiju blockbuster, entered the fray last Wednesday and came out ahead of last week's number one, "Be with You". From 1,143 screens, "Uprising" topped the chart with $5.2 million from 655,193 admissions (39.76%). The fantasy melodrama "Be with You" (starring So Ji-sub and Son Ye-jin), director Lee Jang-hoon-I's debut, had 57 more screens to pool from, but the 577,032 admissions (33.88%) it walked away with at the end of the weekend were not enough to secure a second straight week at the top...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.03.23 ~ 2018.03.25
The number one movie this week is "Pacific Rim: Uprising"...More
The movie "Be with You" is number 1 in the Box Office and it's on the verge of breaking through 1 million views.
According to the Korean Films Commission, "Be with You" is currently in the lead with 98,840 on the 19th. The accumulated numbers are 979,366...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.03.16 ~ 2018.03.18
The number one movie this week is "Be with You" (지금 만나러 갑니다)...More
"The Body" remains undefeated in the second week since its release.
According to the Korean Films Commission, "The Body" gathered 54,084 audience memebers just on the 13th alone and has accumulated 768,222 total...More
2018/03/12 | Permalink
Local thriller "The Vanished" and the new "Tomb Raider" reboot take the top spots...
Lee Chang-hee's "The Vanished", his debut, arrived last Wednesday and topped the Korean box office during its first weekend out. "The Vanished" follows a detective (Kim Sang-kyung) and a married couple (Kim Kang-woo and Kim Hee-ae) as they probe the mysterious disappearance of cadavers from the National Institute of Science Research. From 919 screens nationwide, Lee's thriller claimed 519,991 admissions (32.84%), or $4 million, to supplant Hong Chang-pyo's "The Princess and the Matchmaker" at the top...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.03.09 ~ 2018.03.11
The number one movie this week is "The Vanished" (사라진 밤)...More
"The Vanished" topped the box office on its first day in theaters.
According to the Korean Film Commission, "The Vanished" came in first with 56,7111 views on the 7th alone. The accumulated figure is about 64,934...More
Popularity for the movie "Little Forest" is high.
According to the Korean Film commission, "Little Forest" came in second in the box affice with an audience attendance number of 57,099 on the 5th alone. This adds into the cummulative total views of 737,138...More
2018/03/05 | Permalink
Homegrown dramas dethrone Marvel's "Black Panther"...
For the past two weekends, the latest dimension in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ("Black Panther") has ruled proceedings, but Hong Chang-pyo's debut feature, "The Princess and the Matchmaker", and Yim Soon-rye's "Little Forest" both arrived last Wednesday and denied "Black Panther" a third straight weekend at the top of the Korean box office...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.03.02 ~ 2018.03.04
The number one movie this week is "The Princess and the Matchmaker" (궁합)...More
"The Princess and the Matchmaker", formerly known as "Marital Harmony", came first in the Box Office.
According to Korean Films Commission, "The Princess and the Matchmaker" mobilized up to 175,000 audiences in 853 theaters nationwide. Its competition is "Little Forest" and "Gate"...More
2018/02/26 | Permalink
"Black Panther" still rules...
The King of Wakanda, "Black Panther", continued its reign atop Korea's box office this past weekend by securing 43.34% of the sales. From 1,242 screens (down from 1,620), the eighteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe added 708,800 admissions ($5.7 million) to bring its total gross in Korea now to $35.8 million (4.4 million admissions). Director Ryan Coogler's recording-breaking blockbuster is now the highest-grossing foreign film of the year in Korea and the third overall; worldwide, since its release in America just after Valentine's Day, "Black Panther" has amassed an impressive $548.9 million...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.02.23 ~ 2018.02.25
The number one movie this week is "Black Panther"...More
2018/02/19 | Permalink
"Black Panther" takes the Land of the Morning Calm by storm...
Marvel's much-anticipated superhero film "Black Panther" arrived in Korea on Valentine's Day and quickly rose to the top of the chart over the weekend. The film, the eighteenth in the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), was produced for $200 million and has already grossed close to double that figure; in Korea, and from 1,620 screens around the peninsula, the King of Wakanda opened his account with $15.6 million from 1.9 million admissions (51.33%)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.02.16 ~ 2018.02.18
The number one movie this week is "Black Panther"...More
"Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead" is on top of the box office.
According to the Korean Film Council, "Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead" gathered 88,839 audience views on the 13th alone and came in first. The accumulated numbers are 1,144,966...More
2018/02/12 | Permalink
Korea's favourite Joseon detective arrives and thrives while "Psychokinesis" free falls...
"Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead" by director Kim Seok-yoon, the third in the series, arrived last Thursday and ended its first weekend at the top of the chart. "Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead" (which starring Kim Myung-min, Oh Dal-soo and Kim Ji-won) dominated proceedings from 1,246 screens by claiming 48.13% of the sales, or 782,605 admissions ($5.9 million). Looking back, Kim's previous two films in this ongoing series, "Detective K" and "Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island", claimed 4.7 and 3.8 million admissions back in 2011 and 2014, respectively...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.02.09 ~ 2018.02.11
The number one movie this week is "Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead" (조선명탐정: 흡혈괴마의 비밀)...More
2018/02/06 | Permalink
"Psychokinesis" and "Keys to the Heart" score a one-two finished for the home team...
Director Yeon Sang-ho's second live-action feature, the fantastical comedy "Psychokinesis", narrowly outplayed Choi Seong-hyeon's "Keys to the Heart" to top the Korean box office during its first weekend out...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.02.02 ~ 2018.02.04
The number one movie this week is "Psychokinesis" (염력)...More
2018/01/29 | Permalink
"Keys to the Heart" leads and "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" becomes the second-highest grossing Korean film of all time...
Choi Seong-hyeon's comedy-drama "Keys to the Heart" claimed just 20,000 admissions more than its second-place finish last weekend, but it was enough to secure first place. With 668,658 admissions (29.14%), Choi's debut about a down-and-out boxer (Lee Byung-hun) and his relationship with his estranged savant brother (Park Jung-min) outperformed the final "Maze Runner" and the Oscar-nominated "Coco" during its second week out. "Keys to the Heart" has now grossed $15.1 million from 1.9 million admissions, the fifth highest-grossing film of 2018 so far...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.01.26 ~ 2018.01.28
The number one movie this week is "Keys to the Heart" (그것만이 내 세상)...More
2018/01/22 | Permalink
The final "Maze Runner" and local drama "Keys to the Heart" dislodge last weekend's hits...
"1987: When the Day Comes" and "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" (now the third highest grossing Korean film of all time) have been grabbing the tiger's share of the sales so far this year. That changed over the weekend with the arrival of "Maze Runner: The Death Cure", the third and final instalment in the popular American dystopian sci-fi series based on the novels by James Dashner. Director Wes Ball's action-packed adaptation so became the first foreign film to top the Korean box office this year, but not by much...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.01.19 ~ 2018.01.21
The number one movie this week is "Maze Runner: The Death Cure"...More
"Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" celebrates hitting over 5 million viewers with this newest trailer...More
2018/01/15 | Permalink
"1987" overthrows "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds"...
"Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds", Kim Yong-hwa's adaptation of the first half of Joo Ho-min's webcomic "Singwa Hamgge", is now the fifth highest-grossing Korean film of all time. Last weekend Kim's fifth film surpassed 10 million admissions, and with the 742,417 admissions (23.69%) it claimed over this past weekend, the film has now overtaken "The Thieves"'s $87.9 million. Since its release five days before Christmas, "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" has accrued 12.8 million admissions or $96.9 million...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.01.12 ~ 2018.01.14
The number one movie this week is "1987: When the Day Comes" (1987)...More
2018/01/08 | Permalink
Local webcomic adaptation "Along With the Gods" surpasses 10-million admissions...
Kim Yong-hwa's fun fantasy flick "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" has sailed past the 10 million admissions mark after its third weekend out. From 1,256 screens, down from 1,666, "Along With the Gods" (which stars Ha Jung-woo, Cha Tae-hyun, Joo Ji-hoon and Kim Hyang-gi) claimed 1.3 million admissions or 36.44% of the weekend sales. The first part of Kim's adaptation of Joo Ho-min's webcomic "Singwa Hamgge" is now on the verge of overtaking "Train to Busan" (11.5 million admissions) as the tenth highest-grossing Korean film of all time...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2018.01.05 ~ 2018.01.07
The number one movie this week is "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" (신과 함께)...More
2018/01/02 | Permalink
Local hits "Along With the Gods", "1987" and "Steel Rain" secure 90% of the sales during final weekend...
The last weekend of 2017 saw another massive win for Kim Yong-hwa's "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds", the first in a series of films adapted from Joo Ho-min's webcomic "Singwa Hamgge". Kim's fantasy drama entered the fray three days before Christmas and found massive support during its first weekend out. Its second weekend out was equally profitably: from 1,666 screens, down from 1,887, "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" added another 2.4 million admissions (53.73%) and has raced to become the second highest-grossing film of the year. Currently, Kim's much-anticipated film has grossed $64.2 million (8.5 million admissions)...More
Some 220 million movie tickets were sold in Korea last year, the most in the history of Korean cinema, largely due to three domestic Christmas hits...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.12.29 ~ 2017.12.31. Happy New Year!
The number one movie this week is "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" (신과 함께)...More
2017/12/27 | Permalink
Local webtoon adaptation steals Christmas...
Kim Yong-hwa's fantasy drama "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" triumphed over the Christmas weekend in Korea, and it is already the seventh highest-grossing film of the year. Kim's 5th feature claimed 61.84% of the box office pie (2.7 million admissions) from 1,884 screens, more than triple that of its closest competitor and last weekend's number one, "Steel Rain"...More
"Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds", directed by Kim Yong-hwa, attracted 4.61 million viewers until Sunday, just six days after its release.
The pace is similar to the two of the biggest box-office hits in the history of Korean cinema, "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" in 2014 and "Train to Busan" in 2016...More
The number one movie this week is "Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds" (신과 함께)...More
Ha Jung-woo will compete with himself at the year-end box office as he stars in two films set for release this month...More
2017/12/18 | Permalink
"The Last Jedi" no match for timely "Steel Rain"...
In December 2013, Yang Woo-seok's debut film "The Attorney" was released and went on to earn just over $88 million (12.1 million admissions). Now, almost exactly four years later, Yang's second feature, "Steel Rain" (starring Jung Woo-sung and Kwak Do-won), has entered the fray in front, easily outplaying the much-anticipated "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.12.15 ~ 2017.12.17
The number one movie this week is "Steel Rain" (강철비)...More
2017/12/11 | Permalink
"The Swindlers", "Forgotten", and Korea's favourite little penguin take the podium...
Jang Chang-won's debut film "The Swindlers" enjoyed its third consecutive weekend at the top of the box office by claiming another 418,141 admissions, 23.84% of the sales. Since its release late last month, Jang's action drama has held off cinematic challenges both foreign and domestic to remain Korea's number one. The film stars Hyun Bin, Yoo Ji-tae, Bae Sung-woo, Park Sung-woong, Nana, and Ahn Se-ha in a story about a conman who schemes to outplay an even bigger swindler. With a total take now of $26.7 million (3.78 million admissions), "Swindlers" is the twelfth highest-grossing film of the year...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.12.08 ~ 2017.12.10
The number one movie this week is "The Swindlers" (꾼)...More
2017/12/04 | Permalink
"Swindlers" holds the top spot and moves into the top twenty...
Writer/director Jang Chang-won's debut "Swindlers" retained the top spot and swiftly moved into the year's top twenty as its earnings swell to $21.5 million (3.05 million admissions). Over this past weekend, its second, the 117-minute action drama -- which stars Hyun Bin, Yoo Ji-tae, Bae Sung-woo, Park Sung-woong, Nana and Ahn Se-ha -- came away with 671,665 admissions (36.27%) from just over 1,000 screens nationwide (down from 1,314)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.12.01 ~ 2017.12.03
The number one movie this week is "The Swindlers" (꾼)...More
The cast and director of "The Swindlers" celebrate as the film hits the 2 million-viewer milestone on Wednesday.
Crime caper "The Swindlers" has become the top box office hit of the month, attracting over 1 million viewers in just four days and another million in the next four...More
2017/11/27 | Permalink
"The Swindlers" puts local films back on top; "Justice League" falters...
"The Swindlers", Jang Chang-won first solo project as director, arrived on Wednesday and dominated its first weekend out by capturing 61.85% of the sales. The 117-minute action film stars Hyun Bin, Yoo Ji-tae, Bae Sung-woo, Park Sung-woong, Nana, and Ahn Se-ha and follows a charlatan who spins a complex scheme to catch a fellow con man. From 1,313 screens, Jang's debut claimed 1.2 million admissions ($9 million), which deny DC's "Justice League" a second weekend at the top...More
The number one movie this week is "The Swindlers" (꾼)...More
2017/11/20 | Permalink
"Justice League" ends "Ragnarok"'s reign as foreign films continue to flourish...
Zack Snyder's much-anticipated "Justice League" brings together five of DC's front-running superheroes - Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg - and it didn't come cheap: costing $300 million, "Justice League" is the most expensive superhero film ever produced, and, along with "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End", the second most expensive film overall. The film was released in Korea last Wednesday and quickly overthrew Marvel's latest, "Thor: Ragnarok", at the top of the chart. From 1,308 screens, Snyder's "Justice League" came away with 47.87% of the sales, or 818,401 admissions ($6.3 million)...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.11.17 ~ 2017.11.19
The number one movie this week is "Justice League"...More
2017/11/13 | Permalink
"Ragnarok" rules again...
"Thor: Ragnarok" secured a third straight week at the top of the Korean box office this past weekend. Released late October, the third "Thor" film in Marvel's Cinematic Universe dislodged the local sleeper hit "The Outlaws" after Chuseok, and now, with the 465,780 admissions (25.89%) it claimed here, "Thor: Ragnarok" has banked $30.9 million (4.2 million admissions) in Korea alone. Worldwide, Taika Waititi's more comedic version of the popular Marvel franchise has grossed $650 million: currently the tenth highest-grossing film of 2017...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.11.10 ~ 2017.11.12
The number one movie this week is "THOR: RAGNAROK"...More
2017/11/06 | Permalink
"Ragnarok" still rules despite stiff competition from "The Bros"...
"Thor: Ragnarok" stood its ground against local writer/director Chang You-jeong's new comedy-drama, "The Bros". From 1,047 screens, down from 1,640, the seventeenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe added 833,949 admissions (38.31%), bringing its total tally in Korea to 3.7 million, or $28.8 million. Worldwide, from a production budget of $180 million, "Thor: Ragnarok" (starring a more comedic Chris Hemsworth) has grossed nearly half a billion dollars. Taika Waititi's "Thor" now needs another 256,000 admissions to overtake "The Fortress" (3.8 million) and enter this year's top ten...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.11.03 ~ 2017.11.05
The number one movie this week is "THOR: RAGNAROK"...More
2017/10/30 | Permalink
"Ragnarok" topples "The Outlaws" with over 60% of the sales...
Marvel's latest superhero outing, "Thor: Ragnarok", the third "Thor" film, arrived in Korea last Wednesday to topple the sleeper hit "The Outlaws". From 1,639 screens around the country, "Ragnarok" claimed 1.5 million admissions ($11.8 million), or 63.7% of the weekend sales. The film stars Chris Hemsworth (as the God of Thunder himself), Tom Hiddleston (Hulk), Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba and Jeff Goldblum and has already grossed over $100 million worldwide (the film was produced for $180 million). "Thor: Ragnarok" is the seventeenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.10.27 ~ 2017.10.29
The number one movie this week is "THOR: RAGNAROK"...More
2017/10/23 | Permalink
"The Outlaws" fends off "Geostorm" and "Man of Will"...
Kang Yoon-Sung's "The Outlaws" retained the top spot by holding off some strong competition from the recently released American disaster film, "Geostorm". Kang's debut failed to trump "The Fortress" over Chuseok two weekends ago, but since then it has held strong as the country's film of choice. From 994 screens, down from 1,127, "The Outlaws" (Ma Dong-seok and Yoon Kye-sang) claimed another 786,049 admissions (40.56%), moving its total tally now to 4.9 million, or $36.2 million...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.10.20 ~ 2017.10.22
The number one movie this week is "The Outlaws" (범죄도시)...More
2017/10/16 | Permalink
"The Fortress" crumbles as "The Outlaws" seize control...
Despite being narrowly outplayed last weekend by Hwang Dong-hyuk's historical drama "The Fortress", Kang Yoon-Sung's debut film, "The Outlaws" (starring Ma Dong-seok and Yoon Kye-sang), moved decisively to the top of the chart during its second weekend out...More
The number one movie this week is "The Outlaws" (범죄도시)...More
2017/10/09 | Permalink
"The Fortress" narrowly outplays "The Outlaws" over Chuseok...
Director Hwang Dong-hyuk's Joseon-era drama "The Fortress" (based on Kim Hoon's novel) narrowly came out ahead of Kang Yoon-Sung's crime thriller "The Outlaws" during Korea's biggest national holiday, Chuseok. Both films were released on Oct. 3 and pooled from 1,226 and 1,314 screens respectively, and together they captured 60.74% of the sales...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.10.06 ~ 2017.10.08
The number one movie this week is "The Fortress" (남한산성)...More
2017/10/02 | Permalink
"Kingsman" sequel and local drama "I Can Speak" rule ahead of Chuseok...
Despite earning just 50,000 admissions less than its chart-topping take last weekend, Kim Hyun-seok's comedy-drama "I Can Speak" was swiftly overtaken by the foreign spy comedy "Kingsman: The Golden Circle". From a hefty 1,677 screens nationwide, Matthew Vaughn's sequel to the popular 2014 original - which he also directed and that grossed $414.4 million worldwide - has raced to 2.3 million admissions ($16.4 million), 1.5 million (64.48%) of which came from its first weekend out...More
The number one movie this week is "Kingsman: The Golden Circle"...More
2017/09/25 | Permalink
Local drama "I Can Speak" denies "Memoir of a Murderer" a third straight weekend at the top...
"I Can Speak", director Kim Hyun-seok's sixth film ("When Romance Meets Destiny", "Cyrano Agency", "C'est Si Bon"), arrived to 1,140 screens in Korea last Thursday and came out on top ahead of last weekend's number one, "Memoir of a Murderer". In "I Can Speak", Na Moon-hee plays Na Ok-boon, a hot-blooded female detective who forms an unlikely bond with a younger operative (Lee Je-hoon as Park Min-jae) who teaches her English. Kim's latest, his first feature film without a screenwriting credit, opened strong by claiming 604,139 admissions (45.98%) ahead of Korea's biggest national holiday, Chuseok...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.09.22 ~ 2017.09.24.
The number one movie this week is "I Can Speak" (아이 캔 스피크)...More
2017/09/18 | Permalink
"Memoir of a Murderer" retains pole position ahead of "Baby Driver"...
The American action thriller "Baby Driver", now director Edgar Wright's highest-grossing film, failed to overtake local thriller "Memoir of a Murderer" during its first weekend out. It was a close race, but "Baby Driver"'s 338,213 admissions (22.35%) was not enough to deny Won Shin-yun's new thriller a second straight weekend at the top...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.09.15 ~ 2017.09.17
The number one movie this week is "Memoir of a Murderer" (살인자의 기억법)...More
2017/09/11 | Permalink
Local thriller "Memoir of a Murderer" and "It" edge out "The Hitman's Bodyguard"...
Won Shin-yun's "Memoir of a Murderer" and the American horror "It" claimed first and second place respectively during their first weekend out. "Memoir of a Murderer", Won Shin-yun's fifth film, stars Sol Kyung-gu as a retired serial killer suffering from memory loss who has to execute the biggest kill of his career to save his daughter. From 1,064 screens, Won Shin-yun's 118-minute thriller claimed 43.07% of the sales (899,251 admissions), or $6.6 million, dislodging last weekend's number one, "The Hitman's Bodyguard"...More
The number one movie this week is "Memoir of a Murderer" (살인자의 기억법)...More
2017/09/04 | Permalink
"The Hitman's Bodyguard" takes down "V.I.P" while "A Taxi Driver" backs away with millions...
Patrick Hughes' "The Hitman's Bodyguard" arrived last Thursday and despite receiving just 482 screens (the lowest of this weekend's top five), the action comedy took first place by capturing 30.82% of the sales (556,100 admissions). Interestingly, the film's script, written by Tom O'Connor, was on the 2011 'Black List', an annual survey that ranks the year's most liked films that have not been produced. "The Hitman's Bodyguard" stars Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson and has already banked $76.2 million, more than double its production budget of $30 million; in Korea, its arrival marked the return of a foreign film to the top of the pile after a reel of successful local blockbusters reigned in the month of August...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.09.01 ~ 2017.09.03
The number one movie this week is "The Hitman's Bodyguard"...More
2017/08/28 | Permalink
Local hits "V.I.P", "A Taxi Driver" and "Midnight Runners" secure 67% of the sales...
The highest grossing film of the year -- Jang Hoon's "A Taxi Driver" (Song Kang-ho) -- was denied a fourth weekend as number one due to the arrival Park Hoon-jung's "V.I.P". Park's film (his fourth after "The Showdown", "The New World", and "The Tiger: An Old Hunter's Tale") stars Jang Dong-gun, Kim Myung-min, Park Hee-soon and Lee Jong-suk and tells the story of a North Korean killer on the run from both Koreas and Interpol. It was a close race, but Park's new crime thriller disrupted "A Taxi Driver"'s fine run by scoring 598,715 admissions (25.09%), or $4.5 million, during its opening weekend...More
2017/08/21 | Permalink
"A Taxi Driver" on cruise control after Liberation Day...
Jang Hoon's "A Taxi Driver" (Song Kang-ho) -- his fourth film after "The Front Line" (2011), "Secret Reunion" (2010) and "Rough Cut" (2008) -- secured a third straight weekend at the top of the pile this past weekend by adding another 949,447 admissions (26.77%), moving its total tally now over the 10 million admissions mark. Since its release early August, "A Taxi Driver" has grossed $71.6 million, and while it is currently the most successful film of the year, it is also now the fifteenth highest-grossing film of all time in Korea behind "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" (10.49 million) and "The King and the Clown" (10.5 million)...More
2017/08/14 | Permalink
Local films "A Taxi Driver" and "Midnight Runners" capture 70% of the sales...
Jang Hoon's "A Taxi Driver" added another 1.7 million admissions (40.47%) over the weekend, making it the highest grossing film of the year with just under 8 million admissions. The previous number one, Kim Seong-hoon-III's action outing "Confidential Assignment", scored 7.81 million admissions back in January, but Hoon's fourth feature (after "The Front Line", "Secret Reunion" and "Rough Cut") is still breaking new ground...More
2017/08/07 | Permalink
Local historical heroes fly high during peak season...
Director Jang Hoon's fourth film, "A Taxi Driver" -- starring Song Kang-ho, one of Korea's most celebrated and prolific talents -- enjoyed the third highest opening of all time and came away from its opening weekend with just under 3 million admissions (63.64%). The film captures the heroic deeds of an unknown cab driver who helped a foreign journalist (Jürgen Hinzpeter played by Thomas Kretschmann) during the infamous Gwangju Uprising that destabilised the country early in 1980. From 1,906 screens, "A Taxi Driver" banked $21.3 million and has streaked into sixth in the list of the highest grossing films of the year. Kang's previous films include "The Front Line" (2011), "Secret Reunion" (2010), and his debut "Rough Cut" (2008)...More
"A Taxi Driver" is fast turning into the summer's second major hit after "The Battleship Island", attracting over 3 million viewers in its first four days on the screens...More
2017/07/31 | Permalink
"The Battleship Island" already the fifth highest grossing film of the year...
Director Ryoo Seung-wan ("Veteran", the third highest grossing Korean film of all time) captures life inside Japan's notorious WWII labour camp on Hashima Island in his latest, record-breaking blockbuster, "The Battleship Island". Before World War II broke out in Europe, Japan was mining underwater coal on a 16-acre island southwest of the city of Nagasaki and conscripting hundreds of Koreans, among others prisons of war, to toil away in treacherous conditions. "The Battleship Island" tells the story of a few hundred gritty Koreans who risked it all to escape what is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2017.07.28 ~ 2017.07.30
The number one movie this week is "The Battleship Island" (군함도)...More
2017/07/24 | Permalink
Nolan's "Dunkirk" arrives and conquers...
Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed "Dunkirk" was released in Korea last Thursday and comfortably came out on top over the weekend. Many are already heralding it as one of the best war films ever and arguably Nolan's best. The film was shot on IMAX 65mm and is the first feature film to use IMAX cameras as hand-held cameras. From 1,245 screens, Nolan's epic depiction of "the Miracle of Dunkirk" sold 1.1 million admissions (46.53%), or $8.75 million. Its successful arrival meant "Spider-Man: Homecoming" was unable to claim a third straight weekend at the top...More
The number one movie this week is "Dunkirk"...More
2017/07/17 | Permalink
"Spider-Man" soars unchallenged, slow start for "Cars 3"...
Marvel's "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (starring Tom Holland) retained the top spot in Korea for a second weekend by capturing 64.36% of the sales from 1781 screens. The 1.4 million admissions it claimed swelled the reboot's total tally to 5.9 million ($42.7 million), making it the second-highest grossing film of the year behind "Confidential Assignment" (7.8 million), as well as the highest grossing foreign film ahead of "Beauty and the Beast" (5.1 million). Worldwide, "Spider-Man: Homecoming" has already brought in $469 million...More
The number one movie this week is "Spider-Man: Homecoming"...More
2017/07/10 | Permalink
Marvel's new "Spider-Man" reboot given screens and soars...
America's 'friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man' swiftly swung into pole position over the weekend by capturing 82.74% of the box office sales. "Spider-Man: Homecoming", the second movie reboot of Marvel's iconic web-slinger, scored 2.6 million admissions ($19.1 million) from a massive 1,965 screens around the country, dislodging Lee Joon-ik's "Anarchist from Colony" at the top and becoming the seventh highest grossing film of year...More
The number one movie this week is "Spider-Man: Homecoming"...More
2017/07/03 | Permalink
"Anarchist from Colony", "Real", and Bong Joon-ho's "Okja" put local films back on top...
Lee Je-hoon plays colonial-era independence activist Park Yeol in Lee Joon-ik's new drama, "Anarchist from Colony". Lee's eleventh film opened at number one with 817,684 admissions (48.94%) from 1,176 screens around the country, dislodging Michael Bay's "Transformers: The Last Knight" and denying it a second weekend at the top. Park Yeol (1902-1974) was an anarchist who spent 22 years in prison for attempting to assassinate Japanese royalty, Emperor Hirohito...More
The number one movie this week is "Anarchist from Colony" (박열)...More
2017/06/25 | Permalink
Michael Bay's "Transformers: The Last Knight" capitalises on big opening screen count...
The fifth instalment in the "Transformers" series of films, "The Last Knight", arrived in Korea on Wednesday to a massive 1,727 screens. The film, reportedly Michael Bay's final Transformers film, however, only managed to attract 1.2 million admissions (64.13%), or $12.86 million, which was enough to dislodge Alex Kurtzman's "The Mummy" at the top...More
The number one movie this week is "Transformers: The Last Knight"...More
2017/06/19 | Permalink
"The Mummy" narrowly outplays new local drama "A Day - 2017"...
Jo Seon-ho's "A Day - 2017" (Kim Myung-min and Byun Yo-han) arrived last Wednesday and came close to toppling the latest "The Mummy" reboot at the top of the pile. Jo was the assistant director for four previous films (including "Killer Toon" and "Once Upon a Time in Seoul") but "A Day - 2017" is his first in the driving seat. Like the 1993 American drama "Groundhog Day", the film's protagonist finds himself caught in a loop as he frustratingly relives the same day over and over again. This day, however, is tragic because the lead's daughter is killed in an accident and he has to rush around to try and prevent that from happening, again. From 781 screens around the country, Jo's debut captured 28.36% of the sales (480,790 admissions), just 18,000 less than this week's reigning feature...More
The number one movie this week is "The Mummy"...More
2017/06/12 | Permalink
"Wonder Woman" steps aside for "The Mummy" and "The Villainess"...
DC's cinematic reimagining of "Wonder Woman" (starring Gal Gadot) failed to secure a second week at the top of the Korean box office. The film entered in first last weekend with 831,226 thousand admissions (36.5%), but was outplayed by two new releases, foreign and domestic: Alex Kurtzman's "The Mummy" and Jung Byung-gil's "The Villainess". "Wonder Woman" added 240,552 (10.64%) across 611 screens (down from 1,034) and moved its total tally now to 1.8 million, or $12.2 million. Worldwide, Warner Bros. Pictures' superhero film has grossed over $435.2 million...More
The number one movie this week is "The Mummy"...More
The number one movie this week is "Wonder Woman"...More
2017/05/29 | Permalink
Disney's Pirates and "Our President" rule the roost...
The fifth instalment of Walt Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean"-"Dead Men Tell No Tales", by directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg-arrived in Korea last Wednesday. From 1,328 screens around the country, producer Jerry Bruckheimer's latest spectacle captured 48.41% of the sales during its opening weekend. The 1.1 million admissions ($8.9 million) the film scored is the highest weekend take for the month of May, and the film is also the fourth consecutive foreign feature to enter in first in as many weeks...More
The number one movie this week is "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales"...More
2017/05/22 | Permalink
"Get Out", "The Merciless" and "King Arthur" take the podium...
Jordan Peele's "Get Out" (starring Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams and Lil Rel Howery) arrived last Wednesday to 945 screens around the country. The American horror, which had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, claimed pole position with 802,981 admissions (39.01%), dislodging last weekend's top film, "Alien: Covenant". The critically acclaimed "Get Out" is also the American actor and comedian's directorial debut...More
The number one movie this week is "Get Out"...More
2017/05/15 | Permalink
Ridley Scott's new "Alien" bursts into first...
Starring Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride and Demián Bichir, "Alien: Covenant"-Ridley Scott's sequel to the 2012 sci-fi horror "Prometheus"-arrived in Korea on Tuesday to 832 screens around the country. The film, the sixth in the "Alien" series, claimed 520,635 admissions (25.79%) during its first weekend out to secure the top spot, outplaying last weekend's top two films, "The Sheriff In Town" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"...More
The number one movie this week is "Alien: Covenant"...More
2017/05/08 | Permalink
Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" narrowly outplays "The Sheriff In Town" and "The Boss Baby" for the top spot...
The second volume of Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise arrived in Korea last Wednesday and rose to the top of the chart with 883,846 admissions (28.98%). Back in 2014, the first film grossed $773.3 million worldwide, and the sequel is expected to cross the billion dollar mark; currently, having been produced for $200 million, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (starring Chris Pratt) has already grossed over $427 million. In Korea, the film was allocated 1,218 screens around the country for its first weekend and is fast approaching 2 million admissions (currently 1.7 million, or $13.1 million)...More
The number one movie this week is "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"...More
2017/05/01 | Permalink
"The Mayor" and "The King's Case Note" arrive and thrive ahead of the holidays...
Seven new films (five of which were local) entered the fray this past week as the country heads towards one of its most competitive times of the year. A string of national holidays-which includes Buddha's Birthday, Children's Day, and the upcoming presidential elections-will draw the crowds as many zero in on their nearest big screen to catch some of the season's cinematic hopefuls...More
The number one movie this week is "The Mayor" (특별시민)...More
The day "The Mayor" was released it gathered 185,000 viewers and came in first at the Box Office. By the second day the accumulated numbers went up to 305,395 and with the long weekend coming up ahead, the numbers are expected to skyrocket.
"The Mayor" is the story of a presidential election where Byeon Jong-goo (Choi Min-sik) attempts at Seoul Mayor for the third time in a row with the presidential election in mind...More
2017/04/24 | Permalink
"The Fate of the Furious" retains pole position...
The eighth instalment in the "Fast and the Furious" series of action films, "The Fate of the Furious", claimed pole position during its second weekend out, moving its bottom line to over $18.9 million (2.5 million admissions). From 1,282 screens (down from 1,468), F. Gary Gray's high-octane action outing captured 57.29% of the sales (678,179 admissions; worldwide, "F8" has now grossed more than $772.4 million...More
The number one movie this week is "Fast and Furious 8"...More
2017/04/17 | Permalink
"The Fate of the Furious" overtakes "Beauty and the Beast" for pole position...
Bill Condon's "Beauty and the Beast" was unable to secure a fifth-straight run at the top because of the arrival of a high-octane action film from director F. Gary Gray. "The Fate of the Furious" (also known as Fast & Furious 8), the eighth film in the franchise, arrived last Wednesday and scooped up the lion's share of the stubs (63.82%); from 1,467 screens around the country, "The Fate of the Furious" claimed 1.05 million admissions ($10.5 million). The film, which cost $250 million to produce, boasts an ensemble cast including Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, and others. Worldwide, the 'F8' has already grossed over half a billion dollars...More
The number one movie this week is "The Fate of the Furious"...More
2017/04/10 | Permalink
"Beauty and the Beast" holds off "The Prison" to secure its fourth weekend at the top...
For the fourth straight weekend, Bill Condon's update on Disney's 1991 classic "Beauty and the Beast" (starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens) has remained Korea's film of choice. The 347,085 admissions (26.96%) it claimed over the weekend pushes its total tally in Korea now 4.6 million ($33.2 million), making it the highest-grossing foreign film of the year, as well as the third highest overall ("Confidential Assignment" and "The King" are one and two respectively). Worldwide, "Beauty and the Beast" has grossed nearly a billion dollars...More
2017/04/03 | Permalink
Foreign fairytale narrowly outplays "The Prison" for the top spot...
"Beauty and the Beast", Bill Condon's re-imagining of Disney's classic fairytale, fended off a flood of new entries last weekend to secure a second week at the top. Now in its third weekend, the film once again narrowly retained pole position by capturing 32.51% of the sales (650,185 admissions). That sum moves its bottom line in Korea now to over 4 million admissions ($30.1 million) and is currently the third highest-grossing film of the year behind "The King" (5.3 million) and "Confidential Assignment" (7.8 million). Worldwide, "Beauty and the Beast" is closing in on a billion dollars in sales: $876.3 million...More
Movies "One Line" and "Ghost In The Shell" came in third and fourth in the Box Office...More
2017/03/27 | Permalink
A flood of new entries fail to subdue "Beauty and the Beast"...
Despite the flood of new entries, foreign and domestic, Disney's musical fantasy "Beauty and the Beast" narrowly retained pole position by capturing 40.98% of the sales. With the million admissions the film scored over the weekend, Bill Condon's remake now moves its total tally in Korea to 3.1 million, or $23.1 million; "Beauty and the Beast" is only 500,000 short of becoming the third highest-grossing film in Korea this year...More
2017/03/20 | Permalink
A trio of foreign beasts capture the podium...
A new beast arrived in Korea last Thursday and dislodged "Kong" at the top of the chart. With 66.86% of the box office pie, Bill Condon's musical drama "Beauty and the Beast" (Emma Watson, Dan Stevens) dominated proceedings by capturing 1.4 million admissions ($10.5 million). The film, a remake of Disney's 1991 live-action classic, after having also been recently released in America, has already banked $350 million worldwide (the film was produced for an estimated $160 million)...More
2017/03/13 | Permalink
"Kong" and "Logan" battle it out at the top...
Jordan Vogt-Roberts's reboot of the iconic King Kong character in "Kong: Skull Island" (Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and John Goodman) arrived last Wednesday and climbed to the top of the chart with 49.14% of the box office pie. (Interestingly, one of the films that Vogt-Roberts said influenced him was Bong Joon-ho's "The Host".) From 984 screens, "Kong" attracted 823,219 admissions ($6.1 million) during its first weekend out in Korea. Worldwide, "King" has already recouped an estimated $142.6 million of the $185 million it took to produce; the film was released in the US last Friday...More
The number one movie this week is "Kong: Skull Island"...More
2017/03/06 | Permalink
New arrivals "Logan" and "Bluebeard" capture 64% of the sales...
The tenth instalment in the "X-Men" film series, James Mangold's "Logan" (Hugh Jackman), dislodged last weekend's number one, Split, by capturing 632,997 admissions (38.55%). Marvel's latest had its premiere back in February at the Berlin International Film Festival and recently arrived in Korea to 954 screens around the country. Critics have praised the film for its acting and general handling of perhaps the series's most beloved superhero, Wolverine, and it's already surpassed its production costs of $97 million; currently, the film has grossed $104.7 million worldwide...More
The number one movie this week is "Logan"...More
2017/02/27 | Permalink
M. Night Shyamalan's Split breaks local films' reign...
For the first time this year since "Your Name", a foreign film has stepped up and claimed pole position in Korea's box office. Local delights have been dominating since mid-January ("Confidential Assignment", "The King", and "Fabricated City"), but M. Night Shyamalan's new film, Split (starring James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy and Betty Buckley), arrived last Wednesday and came out on top during its first weekend out...More
The number one movie this week is Split...More
2017/02/20 | Permalink
"New Trial" outplays "Fabricated City" and "The Great Wall"...
Kim Tae-yoon's third film, "New Trial" (starring Jung Woo, Kang Ha-neul, Lee Dong-hwi and Kim Hae-sook), was released on Wednesday and came out on top during its first weekend out. "New Trial" tells the story of a lawyer's lonely struggle to defend the rights of a young boy who was wrongfully imprisoned seventeen years ago for murder. From 935 screens around the country, Kim's latest captured 34% of the box office pie (754,666 admissions) to claim pole position from Bae Jong's "Fabricated City"...More
The number one movie this week is "New Trial" (재심)...More
2017/02/13 | Permalink
"Fabricated City" ends "Confidential Assignment"'s three-week run at the top...
After three weeks as Korea's number, Kim Seong-hoon-III's action film "Confidential Assignment" was supplanted at the top of the chart by a new local entry over the second weekend of February; Kim's sophomore feature added 543,401 admissions (22.9%) during its fourth week out, moving its total tally now to 7.2 million ($51.6 million), but it was not enough for country's highest-grossing film of the year to secure a fourth-straight weekend at the top of the pile...More
The number one movie this week is "Fabricated City" (조작된 도시)...More
2017/02/06 | Permalink
"Arrival" lands in third; "Confidential Assignment" and "The King" remain unmoved...
"Arrival", an American adaptation of Ted Chiang's 1998 short story, "Story of Your Life", was the highest new entry this week, but the 298,665 admissions (13.05%) it claimed was not enough to prevent two local flicks from scoring another big one-two finish...More
The number one movie this week is "Confidential Assignment" (공조)...More
2017/01/30 | Permalink
Local buddy cop film gains momentum to overthrow "The King"...
Kim Seong-hoon-III's "Confidential Assignment" (formally known as "Cooperation") received a screen boost for its second weekend out that helped bump it up one place to pole position. Last weekend, Kim's sophomore film – after "My Little Hero" (2006) – entered in second with 845,971 admissions (27.2%) from 976 screens behind "The King"'s 1.3 million admissions (42.85%); in week two, "Confidential Assignment" (starring Hyun Bin and Yoo Hae-jin) had 1,379 screens from which to pool and added another 1,9 million (46.1%), moving its total tally now to 3.77 million ($26.57 million)...More
The number one movie this week is "Confidential Assignment" (공조)...More
2017/01/23 | Permalink
Local films "The King" and "Confidential Assignment" capture 70% of the sales...
Han Jae-rim's new film, "The King" (starring Jo In-sung, Jung Woo-sung and Bae Sung-woo), and Kim Jeong-hoon-III's sophomore feature, "Confidential Assignment" (with Hyun Bin and Yoo Hae-jin), entered the chart and secured a one-two finish for the home team...More
The number one movie this week is "The King" (더 킹)...More
2017/01/16 | Permalink
Japan's highest-grossing anime retains pole position...
Makoto Shinkai's romantic fantasy "Your Name" is now the highest-grossing Japanese anime in history having recently overtaken Hayao Miyazaki's classic, "Spirited Away" (2001). Shinkai's critical acclaimed masterpiece entered the Korean market January 4 and became the first Japanese anime to enter in pole position in over a decade. During its second weekend out, "Your Name" added another 739,079 admissions (30%) and moved its total tally in Korea now to 2.4 million ($17.2 million). Worldwide, "Your Name" has grossed $290 million, enough to overtake "Spirited Away"'s $289 million...More
The number one movie this week is "Your Name (君の名は。)"...More
2017/01/09 | Permalink
Japanese anime "Your Name" enters in pole position...
For the first time in over a decade, a Japanese anime has entered at the top of the South Korean box office. Makoto Shinkai's fantasy romance anime "Your Name" (based on Shinkai's own novel of the same name) officially opened on Wednesday after becoming the second-highest grossing anime film in Japan late last year where it banked over $288 million (Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away", the highest-grossing anime, sits on $289 million). From 944 screens, "Your Name" captured 31.3% of the sales (832,040 admissions) to dislodge last weekend's number one, Cho Ui-seok's crime flick "Master"...More
The number one movie this week is "Your Name. (君の名は。)"...More
2017/01/02 | Permalink
"Master" marches into 2017 over "Rouge One"...
After an impressive opening over Christmas weekend, Cho Ui-seok's crime thriller "Master" (starring Lee Byung-hun, Gang Dong-won and Kim Woo-bin) – Jo's fourth film after "Cold Eyes", "The World of Silence" and "Make It Big" – remained atop the chart by attracting 1.3 million admissions (44%). Despite a small cut in screens, which dipped from 1,501 to 1,261, and the arrival of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story", "Master" managed to carry its success forward into 2017 and move its total tally now to 5.4 million ($36.5 million)...More
2016/12/19 | Permalink
"Pandora" retains pole position in the aftermath of political unrest...
Park Jeong-woo's thriller "Pandora" retained pole position during its second weekend out by capturing 42.8% of the sales; the film, Park's fourth after "Dance With The Wind", "Big Bang", and "Deranged", added a million admissions to move its total tally now to 3.1 million, or $20.9 million. The film's release is timely given the recent political unrest in the country, which led Maggie Lee, Variety's Chief Asia Film Critic, to write that, "Korean audiences will surely wonder how the lines between parody, fiction, and reality are blurred"....More
2016/12/12 | Permalink
Kim Nam-gil's latest movie, "Pandora" was released on December 7, and it is just one of his three movies slated for a 2016 release. Since his discharge from the army in 2012, Kim has done only one Korean drama, "Shark". Will he ever return to the small screen?
2016/12/12 | Permalink
"Pandora"'s box office run starts strong...
In the aftermath of the country's political unrest, Park Jeong-woo's thrilling disaster film, "Pandora", entered the fray and shot straight to pole position by capturing 45.5% of the box office pie. The film, Park's fourth after "Dance With The Wind" (2004), "Big Bang" (2007" and "Deranged" (2012), sold 1.1 million admissions across 1,166 screens to dislodge last weekend's number one, Kwon Soo-kyeong's family drama "My Annoying Brother"...More
2016/12/05 | Permalink
Local comedy "My Annoying Brother" rises to the top amid protests...
Kwon Soo-kyeong's family comedy "My Annoying Brother" captured 30% of the box office sales to push its total tally now past the 2 million mark. The film, Kwon's second after "Barefoot Ki-bong", added 597,954 admissions from 831 screens and has now grossed $14.4 million (2.1 million admissions) since its release late last month. That means it has surpassed the 1.9 million admissions Kwon's debut film attracted back in 2006...More
The number one movie this week is "My Annoying Brother" (형)...More
The film industry is suffering a blip as massive protests every weekend calling for President Park Geun-hye to resign keep people out of the theaters.
Even Gang Dong-won, who normally guarantees box office, has been hit, with his new movie "Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned" not attracting as many viewers as expected...More
2016/11/28 | Permalink
"Fantastic Beasts" holds out against "My Annoying Brother"...
The British-American fantasy flick "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" narrowly maintained pole position over Kwon Soo-kyeong's incoming family comedy, "My Annoying Brother". Last weekend J.K. Rowling's adaptation of her own work appeared and captured 68% of the sales (1.4 million admissions), and during its second week out this Harry Potter spin-off added another 895,990 stubs (45%) to bring its bottom line now to $24.7 million (3.4 million admissions). Worldwide, this week's number one has grossed $473.7 million...More
The number one movie this week is "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"...More
2016/11/21 | Permalink
J.K. Rowling's screenwriting debut summons the masses with magic...
David Yates's fantasy flick "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" arrived in Korea last Wednesday and dethroned a weary "Doctor Strange" at the top of the pile. For the past three weeks, Marvel's mind-bending spectacle has been riding high in the Land of the Morning Calm, but this new magical storm from Warner Bros. Pictures has sent the doctor down a few notches by summoning plenty fresh feet to Korea's big screens...More
The number one movie this week is "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"...More
2016/11/14 | Permalink
"Doctor Strange" becomes the second-highest grossing foreign film of the year...
Marvel's latest blockbuster "Doctor Strange" retained pole position and claimed its third weekend at the top of Korea's box office. Director Scott Derrickson's cinematic wizardry (riding Marvel's marvellous momentum) added another 548,520 admissions (38.9%) to its Korean cause to become the tenth highest-grossing film of the year with 4.8 million admissions ($36.3 million)...More
Actor Gang Dong-won is set to make a splash at this month's box office with "Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned".
The film was originally due to be released this Thursday but has been kept back for six days to target students once they have sat the college entrance exam next week.
The movie is a fantasy melodrama about a boy who returns from a mysterious world where time and space stand still, and a girl who is the only person to believe him...More
2016/11/07 | Permalink
"Doctor Strange" and "Luck.Key" capture 83% of the box office pie...
Marvel's "Doctor Strange" retained pole position by attracting another million admissions (58.6%) during its second weekend out in Korea. The film's first weekend saw 1.6 million filmgoers flock to its screens (63%), and with this weekend's take included, the film's totally tally swelled to 3.9 million ($30.4 million). Worldwide, Scott Derrickson's "Doctor Strange" has grossed $325.4 million having been produced for an estimated $165 million...More
2016/10/31 | Permalink
Marvel's "Doctor Strange" arrives and thrives
Marvel's fourteenth film, "Doctor Strange", arrived last Wednesday and shot straight to the top of the chart by capturing 63.4% of the box office pie. The film, directed by Scott Derrickson, had a massive 1,500 screens from which to pool and attracted 1.6 million admissions ($12.9 million) to dislodged Lee Gye-byeok's comedy drama "Luck.Key" as the country's film of choice...More
2016/10/24 | Permalink
"Lucky.Key" retains pole position after screen boost despite "Inferno"...
Lee Gye-byeok's drama "Luck.Key" gained a few more screens during its second week out and retained pole position by adding another 1.4 million admissions (66%) to its total tally. Since its release mid-October, "Luck.Key" has banked $4.3 million (4.3 million admissions) and so moves to number ten in the country's list of highest-grossing films of the year...More
The number one movie this week is "Luck.Key" (럭키)...More
2016/10/17 | Permalink
"Lucky.Key" opens its account and scores...
Lee Gye-byeok's sophomore film, "Lucky.Key", was officially released on Thursday and shot to the top by capturing 68.2% of the box office pie. Lee's drama, which stars Yoo Hae-jin, Lee Joon and Jo Yoon-hee, attracted 1.6 million filmgoers from 1,158 screens to dislodge Tim Burton's dark fantasy flick from pole position...More
The number one movie this week is "Luck.Key" (럭키)...More
The movie "Luck.Key" came in first on its first day.
According to the Korean Film Council, "Luck.Key" rounded up about 214,056 audiences on the 13th. It easily beat "Miss Granny" which recorded 143,843 on the day of its release...More
2016/10/10 | Permalink
Tim Burton's "Miss Peregrine" and "Breathe" trump "The City of Madness"...
It's been weeks since a foreign film topped the charts in Korea, but after entering the fray in second place last week, Tim Burton's dark fantasy drama, "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" (starring Eva Green), managed to top the charts with 660,702 admissions (35.3%). Last weekend, Burton's latest, which is based on Ransom Riggs' 2011 novel of the same name, entered in second place with 23.5% of the sales from 810 screens, but an increase in screens to just under 900 helped propel the film to the top as its total tally in Korea moves to 1.9 million ($14.6 million)...More
The number one movie this week is "Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children"...More
2016/10/03 | Permalink
"The Age of Shadows" falls to "The City of Madness"...
Kim Seong-su's fourth film, "Asura: The City of Madness", arrived at the end of last month and has risen to the top of Korea's box office during the first weekend of October. The film, which stars Jung Woo-sung, Hwang Jung-min, Joo Ji-hoon and Kwak Do-won, captured 43.8% of the box office pie (1 million admissions from 1,278 screens) to claim the top spot from last weekend's winner, Korea's official Oscar submission, "The Age of Shadows"...More
The number one movie this week is "Asura: The City of Madness" (아수라)...More
2016/09/26 | Permalink
Korea's Oscar submission approaches 7 million admissions...
The last weekend of September was a relatively subdued affair, but the country's official Oscar submissions, Kim Jee-woon's "The Age of Shadows", was still able to secure pole position by capturing 38.6% of the box office pie. From the 1,105 screens allocated, "The Age of Shadows" recorded 459,046 admissions (38.6%) which moved its bottom line now to just under 7 million (6.8 million admissions/$51 million)...More
2016/09/19 | Permalink
"The Age of Shadows" looms large in the wake of the Chuseok festivities...
Kim Jee-woon's historical action flick, "The Age of Shadows", Korea's official submission to the Oscars, retained pole position over the weekend and moved its total tally passed the 6 million admissions mark. South Korea recently celebrated one of its biggest national holidays, the harvest festival Chuseok, and over 2 million filmgoers (38.6%) came out to see Song Kang-ho, Gong Yoo, and Han Ji-min feature in Kim's latest outing. Last weekend, "The Age of Shadows" captured 41% of the box office pie, and with the weekend's admissions added, the film's new bottom line pushes it to number seven in the list of the country's highest-grossing films...More
2016/09/12 | Permalink
Korea's official Oscar submission wows local audiences...
After a month-long run as Korea's number one, Kim Seong-hun's action thriller "Tunnel" (Ha Jung-woo, Bae Doona, Oh Dal-soo) was finally dethroned over the weekend following the release of a string of new films. The most successful of which came in the form of Kim Jee-woon's latest, "The Age of Shadows": Korea's official submissions to next year's Oscars...More
The disaster flick "Tunnel" hit the 7 million mark in cinema attendance on Tuesday, according to the film's distributor Showbox.
The film has maintained the top spot at the box office since its release on Aug. 10, the longest record this year...More
2016/09/05 | Permalink
"Tunnel" eyes 7 million admissions...
"Tunnel", Kim Seong-hun's adaptation of So Jae-won's novel, is still leading the pack and remains unmoved as Korea's film of choice. Released early in the second week of August, Kim's third film (after "A Hard Day" and "How the Lack of Love Affects Two Men") has managed to fend off its cinematic rivals to claim its fourth straight week at the top of the charts. 344,729 admissions were added to the "Tunnel"'s total tally during the first week of September which brings the film's bottom line now to 6.9 million admissions, making it the fourth highest-grossing film released in Korea this year...More
2016/08/29 | Permalink
The "Tunnel" enjoys its third weekend at the top of the pile...
Kim Seong-hun's action thriller "Tunnel" enjoyed a third straight weekend at the top of Korean box office this past weekend by attracting 665,351 admissions (20.8%). "Tunnel", Kim's third film after "A Hard Day" (2013) and "How the Lack of Love Affects Two Men" (2006), is based on So Jae-won's novel of the same name and stars Ha Jung-woo, Bae Doona and Oh Dal-soo. The film has sold 6.2 million admissions and is currently the sixth highest-grossing film released in Korea this year...More
2016/08/22 | Permalink
Local literary adaptations take the top spots...
Kim Seong-hun's action thriller "Tunnel" retained the top spot over the weekend and moved its total admissions count now to over 5 million. "Tunnel", based on So Jae-won's novel of the same name, was released on 10 August and shot to number one during its first weekend out with almost 2 million admissions. The foot traffic has tapered off since last weekend, but Kim's claustrophobic thriller was still able to maintain a clear lead by attracting more than double the stubs of its nearest competitor, another local literary adaptation...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2016.08.19 ~ 2016.08.21http://www.hancinema.net/korean_boxoffice.php
2016/08/15 | Permalink
"Tunnel" dethrones "The Last Princess" and takes the crown...
Kim Seong-hun's action thriller "Tunnel" arrived last week and managed to capture 40% of box office pie and dislodge "The Last Princess" at the top of the pile. Last weekend Heo Jin-ho's historical melodrama (aka "Princess Deokhye") attracted 1.1 million filmgoers across 964 screens to take pole position; despite following that good opening with another 966,862 admissions here (21%), which moved its total tally now to 3.5 million ($25.6 million), Heo's latest was forced into second place after the "Tunnel" arrived on the scene and attracted 1.8 million admissions ($13.8 million) from 1,091 screens...More
2016/08/08 | Permalink
"The Last Princess" outmaneuvers "Operation Chromite" for pole position...
Heo Jin-ho's historical melodrama, "The Last Princess", arrived in theaters on Wednesday and narrowly outplayed John H. Lee's controversial war drama, "Operation Chromite". Last weekend, "Operation Chromite" captured 36.5% of the sales (1.8 million admissions) to claim pole position; week two, however, saw Lee's latest slip to second with 1 million admissions (22%) after "The Last Princess" attracted 1.1 million admissions (24%) from 963 screens around the country...More
The number one movie this week is "The Last Princess" (덕혜옹주)...More
2016/08/01 | Permalink
"Operation Chromite" overtakes "Train to Busan" as Korea's number one...
John H. Lee's war story "Operation Chromite" entered the fray last week and managed to displace Yeon Sang-ho's action thriller ("Train to Busan") to claim pole position. Last weekend Yeon's atypical zombie flick dominated proceedings by capturing 75% of the sales (3.2 million admissions), but week two for Yeon's first live action flick saw it slip one place to second as "Operation Chromite" enjoyed a successful opening weekend by capturing 1.7 million admissions (36.5) from 1,048 screens...More
Posters for "Operation Chromite" at a multiplex in Samseong-dong, Seoul on Sunday
The clunky Korea-War movie "Operation Chromite" drew more than 2 million moviegoers in the first five days to soar to the top of the box office.
The film, which features Liam Neeson as Gen. Douglas MacArthur, ran ahead of "Train to Busan" and the latest installment of the Jason Bourne franchise...More
The number one movie this week is "Operation Chromite" (인천상륙작전)...More
2016/07/25 | Permalink
All aboard the "Train to Busan"...
Yeon Sang-ho's action thriller "Train to Busan" was officially released last Wednesday and over the weekend it enjoyed one of biggest opening weekend hauls of the year. Yeon's first live action film captured 75% of the box office pie from over 1,785 screens around the country. That's an incredible 3.2 million admissions (or $24 million) in just one weekend...More
The number one movie this week is "Train to Busan" (부산행)...More
2016/07/18 | Permalink
"Now You See Me 2" and "Train to Busan" arrive and shine...
"Finding Dory" got off to a great start last weekend by shooting to the top of the chart with over 800,000 admissions, but two new features have since entered the fray and pulled ahead of Pixar's latest adventure...More
The number one movie this week is "Now You See Me 2"...More
2016/07/11 | Permalink
Dory finds a way to beat "The Man Who Sells the River"...
Disney and Pixar's sequel to "Finding Nemo" (2003), "Finding Dory", arrived in theatres last week and-as expected-dominated box offices around the world. In Korea, the film was allocated over a thousand screens around the country and from them captured 32% of the box office pie (825,131 admissions) to come out on top during a very competitive season. "Finding Dory" has already sold over a million admissions ($7.3 million) since Wednesday, and, worldwide, it's grossed over $642.8 million (the film was produced for an estimated $200 million). "Finding Dory" is on track to becoming one of the highest-grossing films of the year...More
The number one movie this week is "Finding Dory"...More
The film "Bounty Hunters" starring Lee Min-ho posted W20.5 billion in ticket sales in just four days since the release in China on Friday (US$1=W1,148...More
2016/07/04 | Permalink
Three new entries take over at the top...
There was a major reshuffle at the top of Korea's box office over the weekend as three new films entered the fray and capture over 60% of the box office pie. Last week's number one, "Independence Day: Resurgence" by Roland Emmerich, was bumped to fourth after "Familyhood", "The Legend of Tarzan", and "The Hunt" came in and conquered the podium...More
The number one movie this week is "Familyhood" (굿바이 싱글)...More
2016/06/27 | Permalink
"Independence Day: Resurgence" arrives and thrives under Korean conditions...
It's been two decades since Roland Emmerich's aliens met Will Smith in "Independence Day", but now the invading extraterrestrials and back for another attack on our Pale Blue Dot. "Independence Day: Resurgence", also directed by Emmerich, but still short a Smith, arrived in Korea on Wednesday and landed firmly in first place with 695,000 admissions (35.7%) across 926 screens...More
The number one movie this week is "Independence Day: Resurgence"...More
2016/06/20 | Permalink
Disney's "The Jungle Book" remains king...
Jon Favreau's "The Jungle Book" retained pole position over the weekend by capturing 27.3% of the box office pie. From the 898 screens allocated, "The Jungle Book" attracted 619 thousand admissions bringing its total to 4.6 million admissions ($12.6 million) since its release two weeks ago. Walt Disney's digitally refreshed version of this classic tale was produced for an estimated $175 million; worldwide, it's already grossed $922.4 million and is fast on its way to reaching the billion-dollar mark...More
The number one movie this week is "The Jungle Book"...More
"The Wailing", directed by Na Hong-jin, attracted some 5.82 million moviegoers last month to top the local box office, according to the Korea Film Council on Wednesday...More
2016/06/13 | Permalink
"The Handmaiden" submits to "The Jungle Book" and "Warcraft"...
Park Chan-wook's latest thriller, "The Handmaiden", was released two weeks ago where it entered at the top with 1.2 million admissions. Week two for Park's critically acclaimed film, however, saw it swiftly overtaken by two foreign flicks: Disney's "The Jungle Book" and fantasy flick "Warcraft"...More
The number one movie this week is "The Jungle Book"...More
2016/06/06 | Permalink
Park Chan-wook's "The Handmaiden" suppresses Marvel's mutants...
Park Chan-wook's latest film, "The Handmaiden", starring Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, and Ha Jung-woo, was officially released last Wednesday and dislodged Marvel's "X-Men: Apocalypse" at the top of the pile. Last weekend the latest "X-Men" film entered the chart and occupied first place with 1.1 million admissions going its way (51%). Park's much-anticipated thriller, however, shot to the top in its first weekend out by capturing 47% of the box office pie. From 1,167 screens, and fresh after its successful run at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received favourable reviews from critics and filmgoers alike, "The Handmaiden" attracted 1.2 million admissions to top the chart during its first weekend out on home soil...More
The number one movie this week is "The Handmaiden" (아가씨)...More
2016/05/30 | Permalink
"X-Men: Apocalypse" muffles "The Wailing" for the win...
The ninth film in Marvel Comic's "X-Men" series ("X-Men: Apocalypse") arrived in Korea last Wednesday, dovetailing nicely with the success of "Captain America: Civil War". "X-Men: Apocalypse" sold 1.1 million admissions (51.2%) across 1,258 screens to oust Na Hong-jin's "The Wailing" and so denying it a third straight week at the top of tpile. Marvel's latest did this by securing nearly $9 million over the weekend with second place, "The Wailing", pulling in roughly half that...More
The number one movie this week is "X-Men: Apocalypse"...More
2016/05/23 | Permalink
"The Wailing" screams to 4.5 million admissions...
Na Hong-jin's mystery thriller "The Wailing" managed to retained pole position over the penultimate weekend of May. The film entered the fray last week where it dislodged Marvel's "Captain America: Civil War" at the top of the pile by capturing 64% of the box office pie. This week, "The Wailing" claimed 1.3 million admissions (58.3%) across 1,391 screens to move its total tally to 4.5 million. Since its release mid-May, Na Hong-jin's third flick (the other films include the critically acclaimed "The Yellow Sea" and iconic "The Chaser") has grossed $31.3 million...More
The number one movie this week is "The Wailing" (곡성)...More
2016/05/16 | Permalink
Na Hong-jin's new thriller trumps Marvel's "Civil War"...
Na Hong-jin's much-anticipated new mystery thriller, "The Wailing" (starring Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min, and Chun Woo-hee), arrived in theaters last Thursday and over the weekend rose to the top of the chart by dislodging "Captain America: Civil War" and so denied Marvel's latest a third straight week in pole position. Na Hong-jin's two previous films ("The Yellow Sea" and "The Chaser") received critical acclaim when they came out in 2010 and 2008 respectively, and his third film enjoyed a promising start by amassing 1.8 million admissions (64%) across 1,481 screens...More
The number one movie this week is "The Wailing" (곡성)...More
2016/05/09 | Permalink
"Civil War" continues to dominate despite a host of new challengers...
Marvel's latest outing continued to reign supreme atop the Korea box office, but a string of new releases shuffled the rest of the pack considerably. This latest superhero flick was released in Korea late last month and topped the charts its frist weekend out by capturing over 90% of the box office pie. Over the weekend, Marvel's mighty movie added another 1.5 million admissions (64.8%) to bring it total tally now to 7.3 million ($52.7 million). Worldwide, "Captain America: Civil War" has, to date, banked an incredible $678.4 million...More
The number one movie this week is "Captain America: Civil War"...More
2016/05/02 | Permalink
Marvel's "Civil War" takes no prisoners...
Marvel Studios' much-anticipated "Captain America: Civil War" arrived in Korea last Wednesday and over the weekend this blockbuster was the only game in town. The film was allocated an incredible 1,990 screens and attracted 2.7 million filmgoers for a whopping 90.5% of the box office pie. Already "Civil War" has amassed 3.9 million admissions in Korea alone ($28.7 million), and globally Marvel's latest superhero flick has banked over $200 million. Western superhero films are very popular the world over, and Korea is no exception, and its dominance over the weekend left very little for the rest of fray to fight over...More
The number one movie this week is "Captain America: Civil War"...More
2016/04/25 | Permalink
"Time Renegades" stays put at the top...
kwak Jae-Yong's thriller "Time Renegades", starring Im Soo-jung, Jo Jung-suk and Lee Jin-wook, retained pole position over the last weekend despite a slight drop in its dominance from 29% to 25%. Last weekend Kwak's film entered the fray and attracted 336 thousand to its screens (733); its second weekend out, however, saw that figure slip to 239 thousand, moving its total tally now to just under a million admissions ($6.7 million)...More
The number one movie this week is "Time Renegades" (시간이탈자)...More
2016/04/18 | Permalink
Local films stage a comeback led by "Time Renegades"...
The second weekend of April (8-10) had just the one local film in the top ten, Lee Cheol-ha's "Insane", but Korean films have made a comeback as three new homegrown flicks entered the fray. Last weekend it was Lee's mystery thriller that took pole position with just under 30% of the box office pie, but it was kwak Jae-Yong's thriller "Time Renegades" with Im Soo-jung, Jo Jung-suk, and Lee Jin-wook that took the honours over the past weekend...More
The number one movie this week is "Time Renegades" (시간이탈자)...More
The movie "Time Renegades" went straight to the top of the Box Office.
According to the Korean Film Council, "Time Renegades" drew in 155,851 viewers with 3,299 screenings at 672 theaters. The accumulated number seems to be 168,116...More
2016/04/11 | Permalink
Local thriller "Insane" comes out on top as DC's heroes free fall...
The aftermath of "Batman v Superman" has not been kind to DC's crossover collision as admissions counts continue to drop despite the film's initial hype and massive fanbase. Last weekend the bombastic action of DC's latest enjoyed its second weekend out atop the Korean box office, but week three for Zack Snyder's superhero film was incredibly underwhelming...More
The movie "Insane" made it to the top of the Box Office on its release.
According to the Korean Film Council, "Insane" scored a record of 46,747 on the first day of its release...More
2016/04/04 | Permalink
DC's superhero showdown loses steam...
Zack Snyder's "Batman v Superman" has grossed over $682 million worldwide and become the country's film of choice when it arrived in Korea late March by capturing nearly 70% of the box office pie. Week two for Snyder's showdown was significantly less impressive; although the film still managed to retain the top spot, it did so with just 344 thousand admissions (35%) and was almost denied a second week in pole position by the Disney's "Zootopia" on 293 thousand (29%)...More
The number one movie this week is "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice"...More
Korean Box Office Hit "Veteran" Debuts on Dvd And Blu-ray April 5, 2016
Featuring International Star Hwang Jung-min ("Ode to My Father")
South Korean box office sensation Veteran releases on DVD and Blu-ray on April 5, 2016. The film is a hard-hitting crime thriller with a comedic touch from award-winning director Ryoo Seung-wan ("The Unjust")...More
2016/03/28 | Permalink
"Batman v Superman" overruns "Zootopia"...
DC's much-anticipated superhero brawl, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", has made millions over the past few days as filmgoers and comic book fans around the world flocked to their closest theatres to catch these two iconic titans clash. In Korea, the film was released on Thursday and was given an incredible 1,696 screens, from which it attracted 1.1 million admissions to capture 68% of the box office pie. Worldwide, "Batman v Superman" has already grossed over $424 million...More
The number one movie this week is "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice"...More
2016/03/21 | Permalink
"Zootopia" gets more screens and scores...
"Zootopia" was released in Korea mid-February and for the first three weeks it sat in third place; after its America release, however, the film shot to number one. This past weekend "Zootopia" (also known as "Zootropolis") banked another 358 thousand admissions ($2.5 million) to bring its total tally in Korea now to 2.8 million ($18.7 million; 30%). Worldwide, Byron Howard and Rich Moore's "Zootopia" has grossed over $591 million...More
The number one movie this week is "Zootopia"...More
2016/03/14 | Permalink
Disney's "Zootopia" claws its way to the top...
Walt Disney's "Zootopia" arrived in Korea mid-February and for the first three weeks it has steadily occupied third place. Films like "A Violent Prosector", "Deadpool", and "Spirits' Homecoming" have managed to outperform Disney's latest, the company's 55th animated feature, but the film found new impetus in the wake of its American release (March 4) and has now climbed to the top of Korea's box office during its fourth week out...More
The number one movie this week is "Zootopia"...More
A moviegoer selects "Spirits' Homecoming" at a ticket booth at a theater in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul on Tuesday. /Yonhap
A film depicting the lives of women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II is set to draw more than 3 million viewers.
"Spirits' Homecoming" directed by Cho Jung-lae racked up the highest advance-ticket sales even before it opened, and the number of theaters showing the movie rose from 513 on opening day on Feb. 24 to 876 a week later...More
2016/03/07 | Permalink
"Spirits' Homecoming" still rules ahead of International Women's Day...
Cho Jung-rae's timely drama about the treatment of Korean women during Japanese occupation, "Spirits' Homecoming", retained the top spot over the weekend ahead of International Women's Day on Tuesday. "Spirits' Homecoming" dislodged "Deadpool" at the top when it was released late February, and week two for Cho's touching tale saw it retain pole position with 600 thousand admissions (26.6%) which moveds its bottom line to $16.5 million (2.6 million admissions)...More
The number one movie this week is "Spirits' Homecoming" (귀향)...More
2016/02/29 | Permalink
"Deadpool" makes way for "Spirits' Homecoming"...
Marvel's manic man "Deadpool" had to take a step back this past weekend in the wake of Cho Jung-rae's timely drama on Korea's 'comfort girls'. "Spirits' Homecoming" tells the tragic tale of a group of girls who were abused during Japan's occupation of Korea and the relationships that helped carry them through. The film was released last Wednesday and from the 793 screens allocated it accumulated 766 thousand admissions (30.4%). This touching and important drama stars Kang Ha-na, Choi Ri, Son Sook and Seo Mi-ji and is the third feature by Cho after "Foulball" (2015) and "Du-re Sori Story" (2011)...More
The number one movie this week is "Spirits' Homecoming" (귀향)...More
The market share of Korean films in January was a disappointing 45.6 percent, according to the Korean Film Council.
The number of viewers of Korean films was 7.63 million, and ticket sales were worth W60 billion, down 45.6 percent and 45.5 percent from a year ago (US$1=W1,235)...More
2016/02/22 | Permalink
"Deadpool" dislodges "A Violent Prosector" at the top...
For the past two weeks Lee Il-hyeong's crime drama "A Violent Prosecutor" has been flying high atop Korea's box office, but week three for Lee's blockbuster saw that string of pole positions broken by the latest superhero film to come our of Marvel Studios...More
The number one movie this week is "Deadpool"...More
2016/02/15 | Permalink
"A Violent Prosecutor" cruises to 8 million over Valentine's Day weekend...
Lee Il-hyeong's "A Violent Prosecutor" retained pole position after putting in another dominate performance at the box office. Last weekend the film capture 73.7% of the box office pie, and week two for Lee's hit saw it claim and additional 1.3 million admissions (61%) to move its bottom line now to 8 million admissions, or $53 million. That's an incredible effort as the film races towards the 10 million admissions mark in record time...More
The number one movie this week is "A Violent Prosecutor" (검사외전)...More
2016/02/08 | Permalink
"A Violent Prosecutor" shows No Mercy at the top...
Lee Il-hyeong's "A Violent Prosecutor" dominated its first weekend out by capturing 73.7% of the box office pie and banking nearly $16 million. This comedy crime drama stars Hwang Jung-min as a wrongful accused investigator who gets help in prison from a fraudster (Gang Dong-won) in an attempt to clear his name. The film was allocated a massive 1,701 screens (close to double that of its closest rival) and from them attracted 2.3 million filmgoers to top the chart and dislodge last weekend's number one, "Kung Ju Panda 3"...More
The number one movie this week is "A Violent Prosecutor" (검사외전)...More
A crime comedy starring top actors Hwang Jung-min and Gang Dong-won looks set to be the unchallenged box office leader over the Lunar New Year holiday...More
2016/02/01 | Permalink
"The Revenant" falls hard as "Kung Fu Panda 3" hits...
DreamWorks Animation's third installment of the "Kung Fu Panda" series of films came to Korean screens last Thursday and dominated proceedings over the weekend. "Kung Fu Panda 3" had a massive 1,364 screens from which to pool and from them captured 63% of the box office pie (1.3 million admissions). The film was made for around $145 million, and worldwide the film has already grossed $116.7 million...More
The number one movie this week is "Kung Fu Panda 3"...More
2016/01/27 | Permalink
"The Revenant" keeps going despite "A Melody to Remember"...
The grizzly and gruelling "The Revenant" survived a narrowed encounter with Lee Han's "A Melody to Remember" (starring Im Si-wan and Go Ah-sung) to defend the top spot over the weekend. "The Revenant", director by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, has been nominated across an impressive number of categories for the upcoming Oscars, receiving twelve nominations including Best Picture, Best Director and (here's DiCaprio hoping) Best Actor...More
The number one movie this week is "The Revenant"...More
2016/01/18 | Permalink
"Star Wars" disappears, "The Himalayas" begins its descent, and "The Revenant" rises...
The Oscar-nominated "The Revenant" (starring Leonardo DiCaprio) entered at the top of the Korean box office this past weekend. This gritty and intense thriller arrived last Thursday and topped the weekend chart with 694 thousand admissions (35.2%) from across 966 screens. Critics and fans alike have praised director Alejandro G. Iñárritu's efforts, and the Academy recently confirmed its excellence by nominating it in twelve categories, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor...More
The number one movie this week is "The Revenant"...More
2016/01/11 | Permalink
"The Good Dinosaur" comes out on top, "The Himalayas" still strong, and "The Force" has run its course...
Disney and Pixar's latest, "The Good Dinosaur", doesn't quite live up to the high standard these studios have set in the past, but that didn't stop this prehistoric adventure from rising to the top of the pile in South Korea over the weekend. For the past few weeks, "The Himalayas" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" have been battling it out at the top (with the former firmly holding the high ground), but the second weekend of the year saw a slight slowdown in terms of the number of admissions sold as "The Good Dinosaur" and a re-release of "Inside Men" took the honours on offer...More
The number one movie this week is "The Good Dinosaur"...More
2016/01/04 | Permalink
"The Himalayas" enjoys its third week at the top while The Force fades...
Lee Seok-hoon's thrilling drama "The Himalayas" retained pole position moving into 2016. For the past two weeks, Lee's fifth feature has managed to quell "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" to deny this transnational sub-guzzler the right to rule in Korea over the festive season...More
2015/12/28 | Permalink
"The Himalayas" proves insurmountable for "Star Wars"...
J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" continued its record-breaking run worldwide over Christmas; the film, the seventh in "Star Wars" series, has now grossed an incredible $1.1 billion since its release mid-December (the fastest to do so), but only $18.6 million of that has come from South Korean audiences...More
2015/12/21 | Permalink
"The Force Awakens" in Korea to a lukewarm reception as "The Himalayas" comes out on top...
J. J. Abrams' "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has been shattering box office records as millions flocked to catch the latest in this billion-dollar franchise. Already the film has made over half-a-billion dollars worldwide ($517 million), but how strong was the force in South Korea? Surprisingly, it was not Abrams saber-spangled spectacle that captured the hearts and minds of Koreans this past weekend; instead, it was Lee Seok-hoon's down-to-earth drama "The Himalayas" with Hwang Jung-min...More
2015/12/14 | Permalink
"Inside Men" moves closer to 6 million while "The Priests" counts its blessings...
Woo Min-ho's action drama "Inside Men" enjoyed yet another weekend atop the Korean box office, moving its total tally now 5.9 million admissions ($40.4 million). The film, which stars Lee Byung-hun, Cho Seung-woo, and Baek Yoon-shik, opened in Korea November 19 and has managed to ward off all challenges to remain the country's film of choice...More
2015/12/07 | Permalink
"Inside Men" secures third straight weekend at the top...
For the third week in a row Woo Min-ho's "Inside Men" has claimed the top spot at Korea's box office. Released on November 19, "Inside Men" first dislodged "The Priests" mid-November and has since gone on to bank just over $34 million (4.9 million admissions), 799 thousand admissions of which, or $5.7 million (45.6%), came from this past weekend...More
2015/11/30 | Permalink
Local Delights Dominate as "Inside Men" and "The Priests" hold true at the top...
Woo Min-ho's "Inside Men" retained the top spot in the charts over the weekend and managed to increase its admissions share to 55.4%. The film, which stars Lee Byung-hun, Cho Seung-woo and Baek Yoon-shik, claimed 1.2 million admissions across 1,129 screens (up from last weekend's 1,075) to move its total tally to 3.5 million ($24 million). There was no real challenge to its dominance as its closest rival, "The Priests", earned the attention of just 237 thousand moviegoers (10.8%)...More
"You Call It Passion" is currently in 2nd place at the Box Office.
According to the Korean Film Council, "You Call It Passion" has a total of 115,923 audiences with 45,870 on just one day, the 26th...More
2015/11/23 | Permalink
"Inside Men" dislodges "The Priests" for first...
After three weeks at the top of the pile, Jang Jae-hyeon's mystery drama "The Priests" has given way to Woo Min-ho's third feature, "Inside Men". Last weekend "The Priests" topped the chart by claiming over a million admissions (47%), but in the wake of the release of Woo's new thriller, Jang's popular flick slipped to second with 487 thousand admissions (20%). Since its release early November, "The Priests" (starring Kim Yun-seok and Gang Dong-won) has attracted over 4.4 million filmgoers and banked over $30 million in the process...More
2015/11/16 | Permalink
"The Priests" holds up against Mendes' "Spectre"...
Jang Jae-hyeon's murder mystery "The Priests" retained pole position during its second week out having defending the top spot against the incoming "Spectre". Last weekend, "The Priests" (formerly known as "Black Priest") dominated during its first weekend by capturing 62% of the sales, week two for Jang Jae-hyeon's directorial debut saw that slip to 49% with a million tickets sold. The film, which stars Kim Yun-seok and Gang Dong-won, has, since its release on the fifth of this month, grossed over $23.6 million...More
The number one movie this week is "The Priests" (검은 사제들)...More
2015/11/09 | Permalink
Jang Jae-hyeon's "The Priests" clean up at the top...
Jang Jae-hyeon's debut feature film "The Priest" entered at the top of the pile by capturing a domineering 62% of the box office pie over the weekend. The local film made its debut last Thursday, and from the 1,088 screens it was allocated managed to attract over 1.4 million filmgoers. Formerly known as "Black Priests", the film has been lightly compared to the iconic "Exorcist" film, and, more locally, the film conjures up images of Park Chan-wook's bloodly vampire film "Thirst". In "The Priests", Kim Yun-seok and Gang Dong-won play two Catholic priests who become involved in a disturbing mystery the can't forsake...More
The number one movie this week is "The Priests" (검은 사제들)...More
Movie "Fatal Intuition" with Joo Won topped box office for six days straight.
According to Korea Film Council on November 3rd, "Fatal Intuition" brought 57,234 moviegoers to theaters for one day on November 2nd and recorded 685,403 viewers in total, which has placed the movie at the top of box office. This means that "Fatal Intuition" has maintained the top place at box office for six days straight...More
2015/11/02 | Permalink
New local and foreign flicks shake things up
The box office was abuzz this past week as a host of new entries came and complicated the fray and shook things up from top to bottom. Last weekend Kim Bong-joo's action thriller "The Phone" (starring Son Hyun-joo) topped the chart by capturing 32% of the pie; this week, however, it was nudged down a notch with the release of Yoon Joon-hyeong's new thriller "Fatal Intuition"...More
The number one movie this week is "Fatal Intuition" (그 놈이다)...More
2015/10/26 | Permalink
"The Phone" sends "The Martian" packing...
Kim Bong-joo's action thriller, "The Phone", starring Son Hyun-joo and Uhm Ji-won, was released last week and came out on top over the weekend as Korea's top pick. Kim's tale of a man struggling to make sense of his wife's death was allocated 794 screens around the country, and from those screenings managed to dislodge "The Martian" at the top of the pile with 613 thousand admissions going its way (31.7%). Ridley Scott's adaptation of Andy Weir's 2011 novel has already grossed $384 million worldwide, and since its release in Korea on the 8th of this month, "The Martian" has attracted nearly 4 million filmgoers ($28.5 million), 534 thousand of which came from this past weekend...More
The number one movie this week is "The Phone" (더 폰)...More
2015/10/19 | Permalink
"The Martian" isn't going anywhere…
Ridley Scott's sci-fi epic, "The Martian", managed to remain at the top of the box office pile without much fuss or competition. "The Martian", based on Andy Weir's 2011 novel, and adapted by Drew Goddard, saw 819 thousand filmgoers come out and support its cause across 1,040 screens around the country, which meant that this popular space thriller captured over 46% of the box office pie during its second week out in Korea...More
The number one movie this week is "The Martian"...More
2015/10/12 | Permalink
"The Martian" arrives and conquers...
After entering the fray last weekend in pole position, Nancy Meyers' "The Intern" had to take a step back in light of the next big space thriller to come out of Hollywood: "The Martian". Ridley Scott's adaptation of Andy Weir's novel was released in the States earlier this month, and has already grossed over $227 million worldwide, but arrived in Korea last Thursday and was given 1,132 screens to pool from. This epic space thriller has been well-received by critics and cinephiles alike (especially space junkies and science fans), and in Korea close to 1.5 million tickets were sold over its first weekend out...More
The number one movie this week is "The Martian"...More
2015/10/05 | Permalink
"The Intern" rises to the top while Ryoo Seung-wan's "Veteran" breaks another record…
Nancy Meyers' "The Intern" has dislodged Lee Joon-ik's popular period piece "The Throne" to become the country's new number one. Lee's latest has been sitting pretty at the top for three weeks now, and since its release mid-August it's managed to amass a total tally of 5.5 million admissions, 492 thousand of which came from this past weekend. But a second week in the charts has helped raised Meyer's film to the top in a tightly contested weekend where the podium placements could have gone either way...More
The number one movie this week is "The Intern"...More
2015/09/28 | Permalink
Lee Joon-ik's "The Throne" still reigns supreme…
For the second week in a row, Lee Joon-ik's timely period piece "The Throne" has claimed the top spot by adding another 1.2 million admissions to its total tally. Lee's depiction of the cruel fate of Prince Sado entered the charts on the 16th, and, with the Chuseok weekend included, now stands at 3.5 million admissions ($23.9 million). "The Throne" had to compete with a string of new releases leading up to Korea's harvest holiday but ultimately managed to capture 36.9% of the box office pie to remain in pole position...More
The number one movie this week is "The Throne" (사도)...More
2015/09/21 | Permalink
"The Throne" takes its seat at the to...
Lee Joon-ik's "The Throne" and "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" were both released in Korea last week and race to the top of the pile as the filmgoing public to capture over 80% of the box office action. "The Throne" opened its account with 1.3 million admissions pooled from 1,210 screens while the latest in the "Maze Runner" series managed 849 admissions across 804...More
The number one movie this week is "The Throne" (사도)...More
"The Throne" is on the top of the Box Office.
According to the Korean Film Council, "The Throne" came in first with 223,395 audiences on the 17th. The accumulation is 488,100...More
Asia's leading studio CJ Entertainment, the signature film division of major media and content company CJ E&M, says that "Veteran", its latest Korean box office hit, is set to open in major cities across North America, including New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C. on September 17th and Vancouver and Toronto on the following day...More
2015/09/14 | Permalink
"Ant-man" enjoys a second weekend at the top...
For the second week in a row Marvel's "Ant-Man" topped the South Korea box office and has now moved its total tally to 2.3 million admissions ($16 million). Release in Korea on the third, "Ant-Man" continues the superhero trend by bringing international audiences another incredible character from the Marvel's inexhaustible universe of heroes. Last weekend the film opened in first by capturing over 45% of the box office pie, and week two for Marvel's mighty mini man saw it retain the top spot by claiming 40.8% of sales (695 thousand admissions). Although a foreign flick topped the weekend's list of top performers, the home team occupied positions two through sixth with a variety of compelling local features, some of which are still writing their names into the record books...More
The number one movie this week is "Ant-Man"...More
2015/09/07 | Permalink
Marvel's "Ant Man" makes a move on "Veteran"...
After weeks of local delights dominating, Marvel's latest superhero film, "Ant Man" by Peyton Reed, has managed to outperform the home team's frontrunners to top the chart. "Ant Man" was allocated 946 screens around the country, and from that pool it was able to attract an impressive 1.1 million filmgoers to its cause (45.7%). Peyton's effort made its debut in Los Angeles back in June, and has already grossed over $383 million, but only arrived in Korea last Thursday...More
The number one movie this week is "Ant-Man"...More
2015/08/31 | Permalink
"Veteran" pushes past 10 million as local delights dominate...
Ryoo Seung-wan's "Veteran" added another million admissions (43%) over the weekend to write its total tally into the history books. For the past month Ryoo's popular crime drama has remained the country's film of choice and now moves onto an incredible 10.8 million admissions ($71.6 million). Only ten other Korean films have managed this impressive feat, including "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" (17.6), "Ode to My Father" (14.2), "The Thieves" (12.9), "Miracle in Cell No.7" (12.8), and "Masquerade" (12.3). The success of Ryoo's film has bumped "The King and the Clown" (10.5) out of this exclusive top ten, and soon "Veteran" will challenge "The Host" (10.9), "Haeundae" (11.3), "The Attorney" (11.3), and even this week's number three, Choi Dong-hoon's "The Assassination" (12.1). Each weekend since its release "Veteran" has managed to capture over 40% of the box office pie, and, to state the obvious, it's no done yet!...More
2015/08/24 | Permalink
"Veteran" eyes 10 million…
Ryoo Seung-wan's crime drama "Veteran" has once again emerged at the top of the pile as it enjoys a third week as Korea's number one. "Veteran" saw another sizeable weekend as it added 1.3 million admissions (43%) to move its total tally to just over 9 million ($59.1 million). Last weekend Ryoo's crime drama attracted a massive 2.2 million filmgoers, and the weekend before that saw 1.9 million flock to its screens, and now the films is poised to join an elite group of South Korea films that have claimed 10 million admissions...More
2015/08/17 | Permalink
"Veteran" watches from above as "The Assassination" makes history...
Ryoo Seung-wan's crime drama "Veteran", Choi Dong-hoon's "The Assassination", "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation", and "Minions" all retained their place as Korea's films of choice at the top. Last weekend, these four managed to capture over 90% of the box office pie and have all now retained their place with 83% of the interest going their way. Once again "Veteran" led the charge, and actually managed to outdo itself in week two by attracting an impressive 2.2 million filmgoers to its screens. With this past weekend done and dusted, Ryoo's popular flick moves its total tally now to 6.6 million, or $44 million...More
2015/08/10 | Permalink
"Veteran" enjoys stunning opening weekend...
After a stunning first couple weeks at the top of the pile, Choi Dong-hoon's "The Assassination" remained in second by adding another million admissions (23%) to its total tally. With this past weekend's figures in, "The Assassination" has now amassed 9 million admissions and moves past "Ode to My Father" as the second highest-grossing Korean film of the year...More
The period espionage film "The Assassination" surpassed the 7 million mark in cinema attendance on Tuesday, only 14 days after its release.
The flick had drawn a total of 7.06 million viewers as of Tuesday morning, according to the Korea Film Council, and the momentum is expected to continue...More
2015/08/03 | Permalink
Cruise disrupts "The Assassination" on entry…
After a recording-breaking performance by a local hit last week, Tom Cruise qua Ethan Hunt has come in and immediately upped the ante and put pressure on a home hero. Last weekend Choi Dong-hoon's "The Assassination" attracted over 2.4 million admissions ($16 million) during its opening weekend out; it was a stunning start that finally put a Korean film firmly back on top. Choi's high-stakes drama may have conceded the lead, but in just over a week it's managed moved its total tally to 6.5 million admissions (that's $43.8 million since July, 22), 1.5 million of which came from this past weekend...More
The number one movie this week is "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation"...More
2015/07/27 | Permalink
"The Assassination" dominates and threatens records...
Not since "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" (South Korea's highest-grossing film) have Korea's moviegoers rallied so vehemently behind a moving picture. Choi Dong-hoon's drama "The Assassination" was officially released last Wednesday and was the film to see over the weekend. And see they did...More
The number one movie this week is "The Assassination" (암살)...More
The movie "The Assassination" is looking at the 2 million tickets sold mark.
According to the July 25th Korean Film Council's database, the movie "The Assassination" has topped the daily box office by selling 543,281 tickets on the 24th alone. The total cumulative numbers for this movie is 1,470,000 tickets sold. If this trend continues and considering this is the first weekend since this movie was released, it is possible that the movie will reach the 2,000,000 mark today...More
2015/07/20 | Permalink
Last week Disney and Pixar's "Inside Out" entered the fray to settle in second with 21% of the box office pie; this weekend, however, saw the popular animation clinch the top spot by outperforming Kim Hak-soon's "Northern Limit Line" by almost most doubling its efforts. "Inside Out" claimed 939 thousand admissions over 931 screens (35%) to top the chart over the weekend, bumping Kim's war drama down a place with its 530 thousand admissions (19%). Worldwide, "Inside Out" has been extremely well-received having now banked over $490 million...More
The number one movie this week is "Inside Out"...More
The movie "Three Summer Nights" started off in 3rd place.
According to the Korean Film Council on the 16th, "Three Summer Nights" was released in 297 cinemas across the country and gathered about 12,378 audiences. The accumulated number adds up to 15,621...More
2015/07/13 | Permalink
Kim Hak-soon's "Northern Limit Line" back on song…
Kim Hak-soon's war drama "Northern Limit Line" returned to the top of the pile this past weekend after having been dislodged last week by the hard-hitting "Terminator Genisys". Kim's war drama did this by capturing 26% of the box office pie (872 thousand admissions), and so moved its total tally onto 4.6 million ($31 million). Last week's number one, the fifth in the "Terminator" series, fell two places to settle in third with 647 thousand (21%), while second place went to the critically acclaimed new Disney and Pixar feature: "Inside Out" by Pete Docter...More
The number one movie this week is "Northern Limit Line" (연평해전)...More
2015/07/06 | Permalink
Taylor's new "Terminator" shoots and scores…
Last week Kim Hak-soon's war drama "Northern Limit Line" managed to dislodge the record-breaking "Jurassic Park" at the top of the chart. This past weekend, however, saw another foreign favourite come back from the archives to thrill audiences yet again with its dystopian take on future days...More
The number one movie this week is "Terminator Genisys"...More
2015/06/29 | Permalink
A rush of fresh blood dislodges "Jurassic World"...
A string of new flicks, both foreign and domestic, flooded Korea cinemas last week, and in the aftermath of the weekend a new championed emerged. For the past few weeks the gigantically successful "Jurassic World" (which has, to date, banked over $1.2B worldwide) has dominated Korean screens with its ferocious abominations, but this past weekend saw a new favourite rise to the top, a local flick that's based on a true story of war and young courage...More
The number one movie this week is "Northern Limit Line" (N.L.L. - 연평해전)...More
"Northern Limit Line" came in first on its first day.
According to the Korean Film Council, "Northern Limit Line" gathered 153,217 audiences and came in first at the box office. The accumulated number is approximately 162,440...More
Movie "The Classified File" has remained at the top of box office for two days in a row as of now.
According to the electronic statics of movie tickets on June 24th, "The Classified File" ranked top at the box office by bringing the additional 137,204 people to 814 screens nationwide...More
2015/06/22 | Permalink
"Jurassic World" still rules, but under pressure from two new local entries...
Two films (one foreign, one local) dominated at the top of the pile over the weekend. "Jurassic World" and "The Classified File" were the nation's films of choice, and together constituted over 80% of the sales with just over 2 million admissions between them. Last weekend, "Jurassic World" came and conquered, and week two for this record-breaking thrill ride saw it retain the top stop with over a million in attendance (45%). Colin Trevorrow's "Jurassic World" has already broken the record for the all-time opening weekend in North America, and in South Korea that support has continued as the film, the fourth installment in the "Jurassic Park" series, now moves onto $27M (3.4M admissions)...More
The number one movie this week is "Jurassic World"...More
2015/06/15 | Permalink
"Jurassic World" fever hits…
Over the weekend, the globe gave Colin Trevorrow's "Jurassic World" the biggest opening of all time. The much-anticipated "Jurassic World" banked more than $511M worldwide, making it the first film to ever gross more than $500M in a single weekend. In South Korea, the film opened in first with 1.5M admissions (71%) going its way, adding around $16M to that gross record...More
The number one movie this week is "Jurassic World"...More
2015/06/08 | Permalink
Korean filmgoers trade dystopia for disaster as "San Andreas" disrupts…
Brad Peyton's epic disaster film "San Andreas" hit South Korea last Wednesday and now sits atop the box office. The $110M film attracted 724K admissions over 847 screens to end the first weekend of June comfortably on top with 48.3% of the box office pie going its way. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film has attracted fans locally and internationally and has already banked over $150M worldwide...More
The number one movie this week is "San Andreas"...More
The number one movie this week is "Mad Max: Fury Road"...More
2015/05/25 | Permalink
"Mad Max" retains pole position...
The fourth film in the "Mad Max" series continued its reign atop the Korean box office, claiming additional 310K (31%) across 714 screens to move its total tally now to 1.8M ($15M). "Mad Max: Fury Road" has been peppered with praise from critics and filmgoers worldwide, and is quickly closing in on the estimated $150M it took to produce. Last weekend "Mad Max" (along with Spy) entered and dislodged Marvel's "Avengers" as the country's favourite flick; week two for George Miller's dusty dystopia saw that success continue as fans flocked to theatres to catch Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron in action...More
The number one movie this week is "Mad Max: Fury Road"...More
2015/05/18 | Permalink
"Chronicles of Evil" and "Mad Max" dislodges "The Avengers"...
While Cannes is playing host to the top stars and filmmakers from around the world, the South Korean public came out in droves over the weekend to catch two new features that recently made their way onto the chart. Baek Woon-hak's thriller "Chronicles of Evil" and George Miller's remake of "Mad Max" were the must-see films, and between them the capture over 70% of the box office pie; in the process removing "The Avengers" from its previous privileged position as South Korea's number one...More
The number one movie this week is "Chronicles of Evil" (악의 연대기)...More
The noir film "Coin Locker Girl" passed the 1 million mark in viewership on Saturday, some 10 days after its release on April 30.
The film's viewership performance came as a surprise because it faces a number of box-office disadvantages...More
2015/05/11 | Permalink
Marvel's massively successful "Avengers: Age of Ultron" continued its reign at the top of the pile over this past weekend. The $280 billion film added an additional 804 admissions (52%) to its cause, bringing its total tally in South Korea now to 9.3 million admissions (or $73 million). Currently, "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" has grossed over $875 million worldwide...More
2015/05/04 | Permalink
Marvel's might continues while newcomers stake their claim…
There was some serious jostling for position going on at the box office this past weekend. Last weekend Marvel's latest "Avengers" film entered the fray and (righteously) dominated proceedings by capturing a mammoth 90% of the box office pie. And while this left little else for the rest of the pack to pounce on, a week later we find a string of new entries trying to make a move on Marvel's monster...More
2015/04/27 | Permalink
Mind the Gap: The "Avengers" return to ruin…
Crumbs. That's what Marvel's monster left for the rest of the pack over the weekend, crumbs.
Its pre-sales were brilliant, over a million, and a million more stormed cinemas across the country to catch the heroes' phenomenal return (as well as to catch South Korean model-turned-actress Claudia Kim make her movie debut as a support character). The hype building up to its release made the weekend's landslide no surprise, but the furiosity of the frenzy was still a sight to behold as "Avengers: Age of Ultron" affected a perfect cinematic storm...More
2015/04/20 | Permalink
"Furious 7" stays ahead of the pack…
"Furious 7" remained the South's favourite flick over the weekend by capturing 41% of the box office pie. James Wan's action outing attracted an additional 472K admissions over 813 screens to move its total tally now to 2.8M ($21.7M). Globally, the film has amassed over $1.1B, making it the seventh highest-grossing film of all time, just ahead of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and behind "Iron Man 3"...More
The number one movie this week is "Fast & Furious 7"...More
2015/04/13 | Permalink
"Furious 7" retains pole position
James Wan's "Furious 7" managed to stay in pole position over this past weekend by capturing 42.6% of the box office pie. The frantic action flick added 585K admissions over 818 screens to bring its total tally in Korea to 2.1M ($15.8M). The film, which stars the late Paul Walker alongside a host of Hollywood heroes such as Vin Deiesel, Dwayne Johnson, and Michelle Rodriguez, has thus far amasses over $800 million worldwide...More
The number one movie this week is "Furious 7"...More
2015/04/06 | Permalink
"Fast & Furious" outplays "Twenty" for pole position...
April saw the release of a number of competitive films, five of which entered the fray and featured in this past weekend's top ten. The much-anticipated "Fast & Furious 7" (starring the late Paul Walker alongside Vin Diesel) hit theatres worldwide recently, and Korean audiences welcomed the seventh instalment by raising it up as the country's current number one...More
The number one movie this week is "Fast & Furious 7"...More
2015/03/30 | Permalink
"Twenty" starts, and scores…
Lee Byeong-heon-I's "Twenty" entered the fray last Wednesday and dominated proceedings over the weekend by capturing 48% of box office pie. The film, which stars Kim Woo-bin, Lee Junho and Kang Ha-neul, attracted an impressive 852K filmgoers across 925 screens to end the weekend at the top; albeit during a quiet week in terms of turnout...More
Movie "Twenty" gathered 150,000 audiences on the first day of release and has the green light.
According to the Korean Film Council, "Twenty" has an accumulated number of 169,627 audiences in 785 theaters...More
2015/03/23 | Permalink
"Whiplash" for the win...
Damien Chazelle's "Whiplash" rose to the top of the pile over the weekend having entered the fray last weekend in fourth. The film, which is based on Damien's experiences in the Princeton High School Studio Band, claimed 374K (24%) over 574 screens to top the chart, brining its total tally in Korea now to 825K, or $5.9M...More
The number one movie this week is "Whiplash"...More
2015/03/16 | Permalink
"The Kingsman" falls to "The Deal"...
British spy flick "Kingsman: The Secret Service" was finally, and narrowly, dethroned at the top of the pile over this past weekend. The action comedy has been reigning atop the Korean box office for a few weeks now, but was finally outplayed by Son Yong-ho's crime thriller "The Deal", starring Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Sung-kyun, and Park Sung-woong...More
The number one movie this week is "The Deal" (살인의뢰)...More
2015/03/09 | Permalink
"The Kingsman"'s reign continues unchallenged…
Last weekend British spy flicks "Kingsman: The Secret Service" and "The Imitiation Game" ruled at as the country's number one and two, claiming just under a million admission between them. The later lost its footing and fell to third, but Matthew Vaughn's "Kingsman" managed to retain its place as Korea's film of choice despite the arrival of Ahn Sang-hoon's period drama, "Empire of Lust"...More
The number one movie this week is "Kingsman: The Secret Service"...More
2015/03/02 | Permalink
Foreign agents rule and score one-two finish…
The British spy comedy "Kingsman: The Secret Service" fought back after losing out to "Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island" last weekend. "Kingsman" captured 32% of the box office pie to comfortably top the chart, banking $4.6M (597K admissions) and moving its total in Korea now to 3.3 million...More
The number one movie this week is "Kingsman: The Secret Service"...More
2015/02/24 | Permalink
Agents rule and "Ode" revitalised…
Kim Seok-yoon's "Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island" held on to enjoy another weekend as Korea's choice film, claiming 1.2M admissions (30.5%) over 817 screens to once again outplayed Matthew Vaughn's "Kingsman: The Secret Service" at the top of the pile. Kim's latest, which was released on the 11th, now moves onto 3.1M and is on target to overtake the 4.7M stubs the 2011 original scored...More
The number one movie this week is "Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island" (조선명탐정 : 사라진 놉의 딸)...More
2015/02/16 | Permalink
Agents foreign and domestic dominate Valentine's Day weekend...
Valentine's Day weekend welcomed a string of new hopefuls into the game as six fresh players shook up sales to helped spread the love. But of those new entries, it was the return of "Detective K" that came away with the biggest piece of the box office pie.
Kim Seok-yoon's "Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island" attracted 729K (32.4%) from 811 screens to outplay its nearest rival: "Kingsman: The Secret Service". "Detective K" was released back in 2011 by Kim and garnered 4.7M stubs from early January to late March, and the sequel retains the popular comical duo of Kim Myung-min and Oh Dal-soo, but this time Lee Yeon-hee joins them to raise to stakes...More
The number one movie this week is "Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island" (조선명탐정 : 사라진 놉의 딸)...More
2015/02/10 | Permalink
Nostalgic Romcom Rules, while "Ode" crosses 13M...
Box office newcomer "C'est Si Bon" entered the fray last week and captured 29.5% of the pie over the weekend, comfortably claiming the top spot and dislodging last week's winner: "Big Hero 6". Kim Hyun-seok's romantic comedy attracted 534K filmgoers ($3.9M) over 829 screens to outperform Disney's Oscar contender as the South's favourite flick.
Last weekend "Big Hero 6" trumped JK Youn's latest for first, but the musical might of Kim's fifth feature proved too much for Disney's awesome animation...More
The number one movie this week is "C'est Si Bon" (쎄시봉)...More
"Ode to My Father" has become one of the most successful films in the history of Korean cinema. The film attracted 12.82 million viewers as of Tuesday, becoming the most successful melodrama.
The film keeps breaking records as it drew the largest number of moviegoers in a day with 751,253 viewers on Jan. 1 and became the first film of the year to attract over 10 million spectators. It still remains at the top of the box office eighth weeks after its release in late December...More
2015/02/02 | Permalink
Disney's Oscar delight comes right…
Last week Yoo Ha's "Gangnam Blues" entered the fray and scored a narrow victory during a highly competitive weekend. "Gangnam Blues", "Big Hero 6", and JK Youn's "Ode to My Father" were all in the running for gold, but its was Yoo's action noir that the public championed. This weekend, however, saw Walt Disney's "Big Hero 6" gain momentum and claim the week's top spot with over 611K admissions going its way (29%), bumping its total tally in Korea now to 1.7M ($12M). To date, Disney's, Marvel-inspired, Oscar nominee has already banked $484M worldwide, more than double its production budget of around $165M...More
The number one movie this week is "Big Hero 6"...More
2015/01/26 | Permalink
Yoo's "Gangnam Blues" shakes things up...
Yoo Ha's action noir "Gangnam Blues" (aka "Gangnam 1970") was the number one player at box office over the weekend, pocketing over $5.5M (27%) and coming out on top in what was the most closely-contested tussle at the top we've seen thus far.
The 709K filmgoers Yoo persuade into his caves (830) was narrowly enough to spoil Disney's big animated entrance into the game. "Big Hero 6" was, like Yoo's "Gangnam Blues", released in Korea last Wednesday, and competed over 822 screens to claimed 662K stubs ($5M - 25%). It was an awesome photo finish that ultimately favoured homemade Han over foreign fantasy, but only just...More
The number one movie this week is "Gangnam Blues" (강남 1970)...More
2015/01/19 | Permalink
Fresh features help close gap on Yoon's "Ode"...
Park Jin-pyo's "Love Forecast" and Ha Jung-woo's "Chronicle of a Blood Merchant" were released last week and helped restore balance to box office.
For the last five weeks it's been all "Ode to My Father" and, for the first time since "The Hobbit" mid-December, the film's lavish lead sunk to within striking distance. JK Youn's successful war drama captured 27.5% of the pie (808K) across 742 screens for gold, but had to defend its crown against the spritely rom-com "Love Forecast", starring Lee Seung-gi and Moon Chae-won...More
2015/01/12 | Permalink
Yoon's "Ode" continues uncontested…
The Korean box office might not be roaring currently, quieted, perhaps, by the success of JK Youn's heartfelt war drama: "Ode to My Father". Since its released mid-December, "Ode to My Father" has held firm at the top of pile, and its arrival at the ten-million-views mark is dawning. The film added 1.1M stubs over the weekend, continuing its phenomenal run and pushing its total tally now to 9.6M ($69.7M). If, or rather when, it reached 10M admissions, it will become only the eleventh film in Korean film history to do so, placing it in Korea's pantheon of pictures; a hall of fame and fortune that includes such wonders as "Silmido" (the first of its kind), "Snowpiercer", "The Attorney", "The Thieves", and, more recently, "The Admiral: Roaring Currents"...More
2015/01/05 | Permalink
Local drama starts the year out right…
The first week of the new year saw JK Youn's "Ode to My Father" retain pole position, making it three weeks in a row for this touching war drama. The film, which depicts modern Korean history through a story of a Korean War refugee and his fragmented family, easily topped the table with 1.6M admissions (42.2%) and so advanced its total tally now to 7M ($54.4M). It survived the Christmas crowds with cheer, and has managed to carrying itself profitably into the New Year...More
Three domestic films are leading at the box office here as the year draws to a close.
"Ode to My Father" has drawn 4.28 million viewers as of Sunday, just 12 days after its release, as favorable reviews spread by word of mouth and the controversy over its political disposition increases interest in the film...More
The independent movie, My Love, Don't Cross That River has been ranked number one at box office for 6 days in a row.
According to the records by Korean Film Council on the 17th, the movie was played on 696 screens and 3015 times in total on that day. The daily viewers reached 163,473 and the accumulated number of the viewers is 1,356,550...More
2014/12/15 | Permalink
Lovely Indie Makes History…
The biblical epic "Exodus: Gods and Kings" failed to return to the top celebrating a narrow victory over the cosmically curious "Interstellar" last weekend. Week two for Ridley's personal odyssey (the film is dedicated to the late Tony Scott) was not as promising as its entry; it slumped to third having captured only 18% (346K) of the box office pie. Above came Nolan's "Interstellar" (396K – 20%), still short 300K of the 10M admissions mark, and, more historically, came this week's number one: "My Love, Don't Cross That River"...More
An indie documentary about a devoted elderly couple is rewriting the history of Korean cinema.
"My Love, Don't Cross That River" topped the box office on Friday last week, and maintained its lead on Saturday by drawing 247,658 viewers in one day. It has now been watched by 776,424 people and is on course to hit 1 million 18 days after its release on Nov. 27...More
The number one movie this week is "My Love, Don't Cross That River" (님아, 그 강을 건너지 마오)...More
2014/12/08 | Permalink
Scott's Epic Exodus Grounds "Interstellar"...
Nolan's "Interstellar" was November in Korea. It dictated terms and elevated itself well above the competition ("Fashion King", "Cart", "Fury", "Big Match"), each week and without fail. So successful was this space odyssey's reign, that its nearest challenger claimed no more than half of its black and bloated bottom-line each weekend.
It's not over yet, but the film has so far absorbed nearly 10 million admissions ($65.2M): a mega-milestone in Korea that currently only a dozen features can boast (all after 2003 starting with "Silmido"). "Snowpiercer" (9.3M), "The Face Reader" (9.1M), and "Iron Man 3" (9M) have all had a recent sniff, and "Interstellar" still needs a further 800K to buy into this elite club...More
The number one movie this week is "Exodus: Gods and Kings"...More
2014/12/01 | Permalink
"Interstellar" hangs on despite "Big Match"...
908K admissions was enough for the cosmic adventure epic "Interstellar" to secure its fourth week at the top of the table; an uncontested reign that has so far scored the film close to $60M (8.3M admissions) from Korean alone. Even after four straight weeks Nolan's sublime story has remained the undisputed favourite, and is now picking on "Miss Granny" (8.6M) to become the fourth highest-grossing film of the year...More
2014/11/24 | Permalink
"Interstellar" and Co. Conquer…
Christopher Nolan's sublime "Interstellar" once again held steady at the top as Nolan's cosmic cinemascope added another 1.2M admissions (54.6%) to its Korean cause. Since its released on the sixth, "Interstellar" has banked $49.2M, about a ninth of the film's worldwide bottom line (which is nearing $450M). Its recent performance in Korea saw it surpassed "The Attorney" and its allotted 5.6M ($37.6M); and in doing so, becomes Korea's fifth highest grossing film of year...More
"Dad for Rent" made it to 5th place on the first day of release.
According to the Korean Film Council, "Dad for Rent" collected 13,283 audiences on the 20th which was the day of release. The accumulated number is estimated to be around 20,335...More
2014/11/17 | Permalink
"Interstellar" absorbs nearly 80% of the box office pie…
Week two for Nolan's spacey success saw the breakthrough blockbuster add another 1.7M admissions to its Korean cause. "Interstellar" recently crossed the $300M mark internationally, $36M of which coming from Korean screens as it becomes the seventh highest grossing film of the year behind "Transformers: Age of Extinction" ($38M). Unfortunately this galactic stub-guzzler had little competition, and so absorbed over 76% of ticket sales from a greedy 1,410 screenings (close to triple its nearest rival)...More
2014/11/10 | Permalink
"Interstellar" arrives and conquers…
Christopher Nolan's epic sci-fi event "Interstellar" absorbed 73.2% (1.6M admissions) of the box office pie over the weekend; the $165M delight was given 1,342 screens to pool from (more than double any other), and dominated from there.
Last weekend's number one, David Flynn's "Gone Girl", retreated to third with just 147K (6.6%), while Oh Ki-hwan's "Fashion King - Movie" entered the fray in second (284K - 11.5%). "Gone Girl" was enjoying pole position prior to Nolan's masterpiece and Oh Ki-hwan's K-comedy, but even so the film has only amassed 1.5M admissions ($11.3M) since its release late October...More
2014/11/03 | Permalink
"Gone Girl" stays put…
Last week's number one, David Fincher's "Gone Girl", retained the top spot during its second week out, only this weekend the victory was a little more convincing. Fincher's latest added another 452K admissions (34%) to bring its two-week total now to 1.2M ($9.1M). Its closest rival came again via Jang Jin's "We Are Brothers" (starring Cho Jin-woong and Kim Sung-kyun), which managed to register just over 243K (17%), but Jin's comedy drama still finds itself 200K short of that million milestone...More
The number one movie this week is "Gone Girl"...More
Movie "My Dictator" came in 2nd place at the box office.
According to the Korean Film Council, "My Dictator" was released on the 30th and raked in 307,009 audiences on its opening day...More
2014/10/27 | Permalink
Gold for "Gone Girl"…
David Fincher's latest thriller "Gone Girl" hit Korea shores late last week and topped Korea's box office with 426K admissions. The film, which stars Batman-to-be Ben Affleck, captured 29% of the box office pie from 653 screenings, and in the process dislodged Lee Myung-se and Lim Chan-sang's "My Love, My Bride - 2014" as the country's current film of choice...More
The number one movie this week is "Gone Girl"...More
2014/10/20 | Permalink
"My Love, My Bride" enjoys another weekend at the top...
Lee Myung-se and Lim Chang-sang's remake "My Love, My Bride – 2014" retained pole position over the weekend and in the process moved its total tally onto 1.4M admissions ($10.6M). Last week a number of Korean features scored a top ten finish, but of those new entries only "My Love, My Bride – 2014", "Whistle Blower", and "Slow Video" remained competitive in the chart, while Shin Jae-young's "Manhole" and Yim Pil-sung's "Scarlet Innocence" fell promptly out of favour...More
The number one movie this week is "My Love, My Bride - 2014" (나의 사랑 나의 신부)...More
2014/10/13 | Permalink
Stories remade and untold rise to the top...
Three new entries and a reshuffle at the top was the state of affairs over this past weekend. "My Love, My Bride - 2014", "Manhole", and "Dracula Untold" were the only new films to feature as both "Whistle Blower" and "Slow Video" surrendered the podium after only a week as the country's one and two. The top performer was the romantic comedy "My Love, My Bride - 2014", a remake of Lee Myeong's 1990 original that grabbed over 27% box office pie to top chart in its opening weekend...More
The number one movie this week is "My Love, My Bride - 2014" (나의 사랑 나의 신부)...More
2014/10/06 | Permalink
Fresh blood mixes things up at the top…
There was a lot of activity over the weekend as fresh features disrupted what was starting to look like a very tranquil top ten. "Whistle Blower", "Slow Video", "Scarlet Innocence", and Jungle Shuffle" were all released last Thursday and captured close to 60% of the total ticket sales (58.3%) between them. Of the four, it was Yim Soon-rye's "Whistle Blower" and Kim Yeong-tak's "Slow Video" that made the biggest waves as they slotted into first and second respectfully. That meant that "The Maze Runner" and "Tazza: The Hidden Card" descended the chart to make way, but some fell harder than others...More
The number one movie this week is "Whistle Blower" (제보자)...More
2014/09/29 | Permalink
"The Maze Runner" remains unchallenged at the top…
Wes Ball's science fiction film "The Maze Runner" managed to remain Korea's top showing over the last week of September. Ball's adaptation has been a huge success, and has already grossed over $148m worldwide. The film's second weekend in Korea was less than stellar, but the 572K admissions (43%) it claimed was enough to secure its place at the top of pile...More
The number one movie this week is "The Maze Runner"...More
2014/09/22 | Permalink
"The Maze Runner" breaks 8-week long local streak…
For the first time since July a foreign flick has take the top spot. "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" claimed 1.3M admissions during the third weekend of July, but since then the Korean box office has been spoilt by the local likes of "KUNDO : Age of the Rampant", "The Admiral: Roaring Currents", "Pirates", and the latest Korean gold medallist "Tazza: The Hidden Card"...More
The number one movie this week is "The Maze Runner"...More
2014/09/15 | Permalink
"Tazza 2" keeps its roll going…
"Tazza: The Hidden Card" had a fantastic week and managed to extend its lead at the top of pile. Kang Hyeong-cheol's comedy drama attracted over 540K filmgoers (26.7%) over the weekend to move its total tally now to 3.1M ($24.6M), which makes it the ninth highest-grossing Korean film of 2014 having just overtaken Director Chang's "The Target". Kang's closest competition came in the form of the American musical drama "Begin Again" and its 351K (17.1%), but otherwise the top ten remained largely unchanged except for Frank Miller's neo-noir "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" creeping in at ten...More
The number one movie this week is "Tazza: The Hidden Card" (타짜-신의 손)...More
2014/09/08 | Permalink
Fresh Faces move in as "Pirates" and "The Admiral" take a bow…
Kang Hyeong-cheol's comedy drama "Tazza: The Hidden Card" slotted straight into first over this past weekend by dislodging "Pirates" at the top of the box office pile. The film is the second feature based on Huh Young-man's manhwa of the same name, and after eight years fans can finally enjoy this second, star-studded, instalment.
"Tazza 2" claimed over 836K admissions (28.3%) over 890 screens to take gold with the help of actors Choi Seung-hyun, Shin Se-kyung, Kwak Do-won, Lee Honey, and Yoo Hae-jin. Last weekend's number one, Lee Seok-hoon's period romp "Pirates", seems to have finally reached it peak as it slipped to fourth with just 275K (8.7%)...More
The number one movie this week is "Tazza: The Hidden Card" (타짜-신의 손)...More
2014/09/01 | Permalink
Lee's "Pirates" still rule the roost while "The Admiral" spies 17M…
The last few weeks have seen Korea's box office figures soar thanks to two seafaring delights: Kim Han-min's epic "Admiral" and Lee Seok-hoon's "Pirates". The last weekend of August, however, saw a slight return to normalcy as ticket sales sunk in the wake of Kim and Lee's period powerhouses coming down from their profitable reigns at the top.
Last weekend Lee's "Pirates" stole first from "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" with 951K, with Kim's naval strategist following close behind it with 802K. "Pirates" second term at the top, however, yielded just 620K (25.5%) while "The Admiral" was bumped down to third with 333K (13.7%). Together these two action attractions have amassed nearly 24M admissions and are still going around scooping up survivors as the new season is ushered in...More
2014/08/25 | Permalink
"Pirates" and "The Admiral" tussle at the top…
It's been a thrilling month for Kim Han-min's "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" as it quickly became the highest grossing Korean film in history by surpassing the 13M admissions "The Host" put up back in 2006. Kim's epic depiction of Admiral Yi Sun-Shin's legendary role in the Battle of Myeongnyang may have been pushed down into second, but the additional 802K (29.9%) it cornered over the weekend pushes this mighty piece of moviemaking to a record 16.2M admissions ($123M)...More
2014/08/18 | Permalink
Kim Han-min's "Admiral" rages on...
After eight years as Korea's highest grossing film, Bong Joon-ho's hybrid hit, "The Host", has finally been toppled by Kim's epic "Admiral". "The Host" (which stars the prolific and prominent Song Kang-ho) claimed over 13M admissions back in 2006, but Kim Han-min's seafaring strategist (spectacularly spearheaded by Choi Min-sik) has already surged past Bong's buoy with over 14.6M ($111M)--the ultimate box office record to fall in its wake--and from here on out, it's simply history in the making...More
There were few Korean films that were good enough to attract moviegoers until June this year. This led domestic films to poor performances at the box office, making foreign films a more popular choice.
In July the tables have turned, and Korean films have occupied more than 50 percent of the domestic box office...More
2014/08/12 | Permalink
Kim's "Admiral" surpasses 10M in record time…
Kim Han-min's cinematic celebration of the legendary Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin continued its record-breaking form as it powered past the 10 million admissions mark with ease. Over this past weekend Kim's period epic claimed over 2.5M stubs (58.8%) over 1,335 screens to become the fastest Korean film to reach that milestone, and now stands as the tenth highest grossing Korean film of all time. The film depicts Yi Sun-sin's famous victory at the Battle of Myeongnyang where, against all odds, he defeated the Japanese navy on the Myeongnyang Strait by forcing the Japanese fleet into the narrow pass and made strategic use of the straights strong and shifting currents. "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" now has a total tally of 10.7M admissions ($81.1M); an incredible achievement considering the film was only released on the 30th of last month...More
2014/08/04 | Permalink
Records tumble in the wake of Kim Han-min's awesome "Admiral"…
Kim Han-min's period epic "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" soared into the record books over the weekend to become the first film to break a million admissions in a single day. Over the weekend Kim's big-budget blockbuster claimed 3.3M admissions (or 65.7% of ticket sales) over 1,586 screens to force the recently released "KUNDO : Age of the Rampant" down to third. The only other films to sell more than 45K tickets were "How to Train Your Dragon 2" and "Guardians of the Galaxy", the rest simply made up the numbers as these four favourites devoured over 97% of the box office pie...More
2014/07/28 | Permalink
"KUNDO" claims gold with over 2.1M in support...
It's been nine weeks since a Korean film last held the top spot in its own box office, but finally a local flick has managed to reign true. Last week Yoon Jong-bin's much-anticipated "KUNDO : Age of the Rampant" was released and captured over 61% of the sales (2.1M admissions). The film, whose scintillating cast includes the likes of Ha Jung-woo, Gang Dong-won, Lee Sung-min, Ma Dong-seok among others, opened to an incredible 1,394 screens around the country and Korea its first film at the top of pile in over nine weeks...More
The number one movie this week is "KUNDO : Age of the Rampant" (군도:민란의 시대)...More
Four Korean blockbusters are expected to set up a box office war as many filmgoers try to beat the summer heat in cinemas.
"KUNDO : Age of the Rampant: Age of the Rampant" was released on Thursday, and "Roaring Currents" will be released on July 30, "Pirates" on Aug. 6 and "Haemoo" on Aug. 13...More
2014/07/21 | Permalink
Koreans continue to go ape for Reeves' revolutionary rendition...
Matt Reeves' apes enjoyed a second term at the top as it continued its dominance as Korea's film of choice. Last weekend "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes", the sequel to the 2011 film "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", entered the Korean market and captured 47% of box office pie to take gold. Week two for the blockbuster was just as successful as it added another 1M stubs (48.5%) to bring its total tally now to 3.1M ($24.3M). The only local representatives in this weekend's top ten came in the form of "The Divine Move", "Confession", as well as Kim Seong-hun's action drama "A Hard Day"...More
The number one movie this week is "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"...More
2014/07/14 | Permalink
Prime gives way to primates as a new king is crowned...
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes", the sequel to the 2011 film "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", recently hit Korean shores and dislodged Bay's "Transformers" at the top of the pile. Matt Reeves' film captured more than 47% of the box office pie (1.3M admissions) over 919 screens to break the hat-trick "Transformers" was eyeing. Still, Bay's bombastic blockbuster held firm in third, while Jo Beom-goo's drama "The Divine Move" stayed umoved in second place with 925K (23%)...More
The number one movie this week is "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"...More
2014/07/07 | Permalink
"Divine" intervention almost topples Bay's beast…
Micheal Bay's blockbusting "Transformers: Age of Extinction" managed to hold onto the top spot despite some serious local protest. Bay's latest was the sole star last weekend where it opened its Korean account with over 1.8M admissions, but the mech-monster was challenged here by a new entry in the form of Jo Beom-goo's "The Divine Move"...More
The number one movie this week is "Transformers: Age of Extinction"...More
Jung Woo-sung, Lee Beom-soo, Ahn Sung-ki, Kim In-kwon, Lee Si-young, Ahn Kil-kang and Choi Jin-hyuk's "The Divine Move" topped "Transformers: Age of Extinction" on the first day of release.
According to the Korean Film Council, "The Divine Move" gathered 181,052 people in one day and came in first...More
2014/06/30 | Permalink
Bay's Blockbuster Dominates…
Michael Bay's bombastic "Transformers: Age of Extinction" landed in Korea on Wednesday and, quite simply, dominated. The lastest in the "Transformer" series enslaved some 1.8M filmgoers over a whopping 1,597 screens to dislodge "Edge of Tomorrow" as Korea's film of choice. It did so by greedily gobbling 78% of the box office pie, leaving little more than crumbs for the rest of the pack as Bay's brutes raced to 2.6M admissions ($21.6M)...More
The number one movie this week is "Transformers: Age of Extinction"...More
2014/06/23 | Permalink
Local delights struggle as Cruise's latest enjoys a third week at the top
Tom Cruise's latest sci-fi phenomenon "Edge of Tomorrow" continued its reign as Korean film of choice. The film added another 573K (36%) to bring its total tally now up to 3.9M, and now threatens to overtake "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" as the sixth highest grossing film of the year. Running close to 200K behind Liman's adaptation came Kim Seong-hun's action drama "A Hard Day" starring Lee Sun-kyun. "A Hard Day", one of only two Korean films to make the cut this week, attracted 372K filmgoers (23% of the box office pie) to secure its fourth straight week at number two...More
2014/06/16 | Permalink
"Edge of Tomorrow" pushes past 3 million to top the table once more…
Last weekend Doug Liman's science fiction adaptation "Edge of Tomorrow" snatched over 1.5M admissions to take gold, and while its haul was significantly less this time around, the 679K (40%) it pulled over the weekend was enough to secure a second reign. Cruise and his sci-fi flicks go down like a treat in Korea, and paired with the tale's Japanese origin, Liman's futuristic frenzy has thus far managed to amass over 3M admissions ($25M). And while Cruise and his co-star Emily Blunt were blazing at the top, two new local films made their entry into the top ten in the form of "Gyeongju" and "For The Emperor"...More
"For The Emperor" ranked third place on the day it was released.
According to the Korean Film Council, "For The Emperor" accumulated 93,672 audiences on the 12th alone and came in third at the box office...More
2014/06/09 | Permalink
"Edge of Tomorrow" dislodges Marvel's mutants and cruises into first…
Tom Cruise's latest, "Edge of Tomorrow", opened its Korean account over the weekend and was welcomed by some 1.2 million cinephiles. Based off of the military science fiction novel "All You Need Is Kill" by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, the film sees Cruise star alongside Emily Blunt in an action-packed outing that has already amassed $140M worldwide. Cruise has long been a popular personality in Korea and helped the film dislodge Marvel's mutants by capturing 42.2% of the sales in week one...More
2014/06/02 | Permalink
Marvel's mutants hold strong for now…
Marvel's mutants secured a second straight week at the top over the weekend by adding another 834K (37.8%) to its cause. "X-Men: Days of Future Past" entered the chart on the 22nd, where it managed to dislodge Kim Dae-woo's "Obsessed", and has since remained Korea's film of choice. Last week the film claimed 1.4M, but the wealth was spread more evenly this time around as Kim Seong-hun's "A Hard Day" and Angelina Jolie's latest "Maleficent" entered the fray and sapped some of its steam...More
The number one movie this week is "X-Men: Days of Future Past"...More
2014/05/26 | Permalink
Marvel's mutants dominate and send "Godzilla" packing…
Last weekend Kim Dae-woo's "Obsessed" and the latest "Godzilla" flick slugged it out at the top as Korean cinephiles were torn between a local delight and a potentially impressive alien invasion. This week, however, saw the release of the much anticipated "X-Men: Days of Future Past", a comic-inspired event that promptly settled last week's tussle by snatching over 64% of the box office pie. Marvel's mutants mounted an all-out assault and forced the rest of the pack to scramble for stubs, resulting in a landslide victory as it pooled support from over a 1,000 screens nationwide...More
The number one movie this week is "X-Men: Days of Future Past"...More
2014/05/19 | Permalink
Korean's torn between romance and rampage...
There was an intense tussle at the top over the weekend as the American giant "Godzilla" took on Kim Dae-woo's "Obsessed". While Gareth Edward's monster remake seized the lion's share of the pie (23.8% from 438,487 admissions), it was Kim's third feature that seduced the majority of filmgoers into the cinemas with over 445K tickets sold (23.5%). It was relatively fair game as both films opened their accounts with over 600 screens to pool from, but the local talent teased out a narrow victory over the gargantuan ghost and ultimately put more bums on seats...More
The number one movie this week is "Obsessed" (인간중독)...More
2014/05/12 | Permalink
Hyun Bin's reign continues as "The Fatal Encounter" surpasses 3M…
It was a closely contested tussle at the top as Lee Jae-gyoo's "The Fatal Encounter" and Director Chang's "The Target" dominated proceedings for the home team. Last week both films came into the fray but it was Lee's period piece that took round one with over a million admissions. Round two saw "The Fatal Encounter" remain in power with 32.3% (581K) of the sales, but Chang's action outing leapfrogged "The Amazing Spiderman 2" to slot into second. The only other local delight to claim a top ten finish was Lee Su-jin's acclaimed debut "Han Gong-ju" which added another 11K to its successful stats...More
The number one movie this week is "The Fatal Encounter" (역린)...More
2014/05/05 | Permalink
All hail the new King!
The box office came alive over the weekend as a string of features stamped their authority and invigorated sales at the top of order. Lee Jae-gyoo's "The Fatal Encounter" (previously known as "The King's Wrath") soared into pole position with over a million tickets to its name; a healthy haul that was no doubt spurred by Hyun Bin's role as the discerning (and now historically handsome) King Jeongjo. The film opened to over a thousand screens and made the most of them by capturing over 38% of box office pie. Other films that made an impact included last week's number one "The Amazing Spiderman 2", Director Chang's "The Target", and the foreign animation "Rio 2"...More
The number one movie this week is "The Fatal Encounter" (역린)...More
2014/04/28 | Permalink
"Spiderman" swings in and dominates...
After a solid four weeks at the top of the pile Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" has finally been ousted by another American superhero. "The Amazing Spiderman 2" swung into contention this past week and swept the competition cleanly aside, clinging onto more than 72% of the total ticket sales and racing to 1.6M admissions. The web-slinger opened its Korean account to 1,312 screens, more than double its closest rival "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" which also entered the fray but had only 533 venues to campaign from...More
The number one movie this week is "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"...More
This April is proving a challenging one at the box office as the tragedy of the capsized ferry Sewol has compounded what traditionally ranks as a slow month for the local cinema industry.
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" held on to the No. 1 spot last weekend but the number of spectators fell by almost 50 percent to 108,779 from the previous weekend...More
"Mr. Perfect" was released after two years but failed to capture the attention of the audience.
Yeo Jin-goo and Yoon Si-yoon's movie "Mr. Perfect" is about a professional golfer who moves to an island village to teach innocent children after he loses everything due to an unexpected accident...More
2014/04/21 | Permalink
The "Captain" remains on course...
The weather may be heating up but Marvel's "Winter Soldier" still managed to stick it out for yet another week at the top of the pile. The comic captain added another 242,939 admissions (24.2%) over this past weekend to bump its bottom line to $28.6M (3.7M admissions), securing its place as the fourth highest grossing film of the year. The "Captain", however, had some stiff competition this time around as Neil Burger's sci-fi action film "Divergent" snatched a virtuous 212K (21.1%) during its first weekend out. Overall, foot traffic has been soft this year, and the Korean representatives have struggled to find/maintain traction in the top ten...More
2014/04/14 | Permalink
"The Winter Soldier" stands his ground…
Marvel's second instalment of their "Captain America" series came out again on top this past weekend, pulling in additional 470,782 admissions (33.6%) to advance its total tally now to 3.3M. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" landed in Korea late March and has since remained the country's film of choice; an impressive feat given the continuous shuffling we've see at the box office this year. Globally, the film has amassed a monstrous $476M thus far and has been praised/enjoy by critics and fans alike...More
2014/04/07 | Permalink
"Captain America" strikes again…
After weeks of cycling the crown the Korean box office has finally awarded a second term at the top. Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" stormed onto the scene last weekend and has managed to retain the number one position with over 760K admissions. The film, which recently broke the April ticket tally in the States, now moves onto 2.6M admissions in Korea and has grossed over $303M worldwide. Its nearest rival came in the form of the French-American thriller "3 Days to Kill", directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol (aka "McG") with the story itself by Luc Besson, which managed second place with only 117,175 admissions to its name...More
2014/03/31 | Permalink
"Captain America" strikes, "Noah" sinks...
Darren Aronofsky's "Noah" sunk to second as Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" rallied 1.1M admissions to its cause. The American superhero opened to a massive 1,106 screens to capture 61% of the market and dislodge the biblical epic from pole position. Last weekend "Noah" opened its account with 950K, but was unable to see out the storm and managed just 326,746 (16.6%) stubs here in week two. Only three local films featured in the top ten ("Thread of Lies", "Miss Granny", and "Monster - Movie") as Korea's volatile box office continued its fickle favouring of new entries...More
2014/03/24 | Permalink
"Noah" floats to the top with a torrent of tickets...
It was a spirited beginning for Darren Aronofsky's "Noah" as the crowds flooded the theatres for this biblical epic. Aronofsky's powerful, but controversial, account of Noah's Ark opened its account in first, claiming 950,864 admissions (54.2%) over 951 screens to secure the top spot. The Korean box office has been unstable these past six weeks as no film has been able to hold the highest honour for more than a weekend; with the latest dethronement being Lee Sook-yeon's "Thread of Lies" which sunk to second here with just 333,544 (17.9%). However "Noah" enjoyed the highest first place haul since early February and will hope its glory will be more than just a flash in the pan...More
The number one movie this week is "Noah"...More
2014/03/17 | Permalink
"300" falls to "Thread of Lies"…
"300: Rise of an Empire" fell from grace this past weekend as "Thread of Lies" opened strong with 447,454 admissions (26.5%). Lee Han's last film, "Punch", attracted over 5 million filmgoers back in 2011, and now his latest has made the most of its 555 allocated screens to claim the top spot in week one. Last week the fantasy war epic "300: Rise of an Empire" took gold with over 6K admissions, however after that initial excitement the adaptation fell one place with just 303,280 (20.4%) to its name. Murro's hyper-stylised retelling of the Battle of Salamis now sits on an admissions stack 1.3 million high after two weeks in the chart...More
The number one movie this week is "Thread of Lies" (우아한 거짓말)...More
2014/03/10 | Permalink
"300" rises as "Non-Stop" takes a knee...
It's been hard going for local flicks the past month. "Frozen", "Pompeii", and "Non-Stop" have all occupied the top spot but have been unable to hold onto that position. Now a new contender has come forth in the form of Noam Murro's "300: Rise of an Empire", an epic action fantasy sequel to the 2006 film "300". The film, which is based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller that is still to be released, claimed 661,909 (40.6%) over 720 screens to stand as the country's new number one. It was an epic start to its campaign as it dislodged "Non-Stop" at the top of the pile to take gold...More
The number one movie this week is "'300: Rise of an Empire'"...More
2014/03/03 | Permalink
"Pompeii" burns out as Neeson's latest soars…
Paul W. S. Anderson's disaster epic "Pompeii" failed to retain the top spot this past weekend as the mystery thriller "Non-Stop" flew into first without contention. "Non-stop" managed to capture 33.7% of the sales (704K admissions) as it open its account with more than double that of its nearest rival. The film, which stars Liam Neeson alongside Julianne Moore, Scoot MacNairy, and Michelle Dockery, was given 582 screens in week one and secured pole position with plenty of elbow room. The only other new features to make it into the weekend's top films were 20th Century Fox's "The Monument Man" and the Oscar-winning drama "12 Years a Slave"...More
The number one movie this week is "Non-Stop"...More
2014/02/24 | Permalink
Ice gives way to fire as "Pompeii" overthrows "Frozen" at the top…
Disney's Oscar contender "Frozen" was finally dislodged at the top of pile in a hotly contested tussle at the top. This past weekend saw Paul W. S. Anderson's disaster epic "Pompeii" entered in first position (542,060-21.3%), a film that has been struggling globally after poor reviews stunted its hopes of reaching the $100M it took to produce. Despite its unimpressive stats thus far, Anderson's indulgent 3D flick only narrowly outplayed Kim Kwang-sik-I's newly released "Tabloid Truth" (440,829-20%). "Tabloid Truth" is already looking good to overtake Kim's pervious effort with "My Dear Desperado", a romantic comedy that claimed nearly 700K stubs back in 2010...More
The number one movie this week is "Pompeii"...More
2014/02/17 | Permalink
"Frozen" still chilling in first after five weeks…
Walt Disney's "Frozen" recently won the Best Animation award at this year's BAFTA, but Korean fans have known about its magic for weeks now. After five weeks the film is still running hot at the top of Korea's box office and, despite ticket sales falling somewhat, the film has now raced to more than 8.9 million admissions and is still going strong.
After regaining the crown last week from Hwang Dong-hyuk's "Miss Granny", "Frozen" has managed to remain Korea's movie of choice having racked up 747,416 admissions (29.9%) over the weekend. In fact, both Disney's latest and Dong-hyeok's drama remained unmoved at the top of the pile, and that's despite the release of the must-anticipated "Robocop" and two new local entries in the form of "Venus Talk" and "Apostle"...More
2014/02/10 | Permalink
"Frozen" re-solidifies itself at the top while "The Huntresses" melts away...
After a hectic Lunar New Year weekend "Frozen" has managed to recapture the lead and pack on the pressure as it moved on to 7.7 million admissions ($57.9M). Last week it was Hwang Dong-hyuk's "Miss Granny" that stole the show, but after the holiday rush Hwang's comedy drama was forced back a place with its 1 million haul (31.6%). These two films were the only ones in contention for gold, and together they captured over 70% of the market share. A few of the new entries ("I, Frankenstein", "Another Family", and "The Lego Movie") held their own in the middle order while "Hot Young Bloods" and "The Huntresses" fell viciously to the wrong end of the chart...More
2014/02/03 | Permalink
"Miss Granny" leads over record-breaking Lunar New Year weekend …
The Lunar New Year holiday saw around 5 million moviegoers flock to the cinema this past weekend, record-breaking foot traffic that surpassed even the last year's tussle between "Snowpiercer" and "The Terror Live". There were a number of Korean films hoping to cash in on the break (most notably Park Je-hyeon's "The Huntresses") but ultimately it was a two-horse race between "Frozen" and Hwang Dong-hyuk's "Miss Granny". Hwang's comedy drama narrowly managed to dislodge the Oscar nominee, and between them they captured over 70% of the market to lead the hectic holiday rush...More
The number one movie this week is "Miss Granny" (수상한 그녀)...More
2014/01/27 | Permalink
"Frozen" remains solid at the top but local flicks still dominated...
The Oscar-nominated animation "Frozen" held its form at the top of the pile to secure its second weekend as number one. Despite the string of popular local features Walt Disney's winter wonderland was able to pack on another 1.2 million admissions (36.2%) to advance its total tally now to 3.1 million ($22.2M). However "Miss Granny", "Hot Young Bloods", "When A Man Loves A Woman" (aka "Man In Love"), and Yang Woo-seok's popular drama "The Attorney" all followed in close formation with respectable figures to collectively capture 59.3% of the ticket sales...More
2014/01/20 | Permalink
"Frozen" enjoys a solid start while "The Attorney" celebrates 10M tickets…
After four consecutive weeks at the top of the pile, Yang Woo-seok's "The Attorney" has finally given way to Walt Disney Picture's "Frozen" (1,036,102 admissions). The Oscar nominated animation has already grossed $759M worldwide and arrived on Korean shores to the delight of more than a million filmgoers. "Frozen" captured 41.4% of the market share to dislodge Yang's true-life drama and deny it a fifth straight week as Korea's number one. However that didn't overshadow the fact that this past week saw "The Attorney" breach 10 million admissions (10,162,511 - $69.5M), and it now joins an elite, and ever-growing, list of Korean films who have achieved such an incredible feat...More
"The Attorney" enjoys its fourth straight week at the top…
Yang Woo-seok's "The Attorney" enjoyed its fourth week atop the Korean box office, moving the Song Kang-ho-studded feature closer to a whopping 10 million admissions. Yang's true-life drama added 923, 790 (32.2%) admissions to bump its total tally to 9.2M since its release late last month. It was once again joined in second by Won Shin-yun's action thriller "The Suspect", a modern spy flick that has quietly amassed 3.7M in the shadow of Yang's popular piece. The only other local feature to score a top ten finish this past weekend was Seong Si-heup's comedy "Plan Man"; the film, which stars Jung Jae-young and Han Ji-min, managed just 274, 209 (10.8%) in its first weekend out...More
2014/01/06 | Permalink
"The Attorney" gets 2014 off to a super start…
The first figures for 2014 are in and Yang Woo-seok's "The Attorney" has crossed over in style. Yang's true-life drama dominated proceedings at the end of 2013, and has opened its 2014 account with 1.2 million admissions (44.3%), advancing its total tally now to 7.8M ($53.7M). Yang's magnetic marvel was joined by Won Shin-yun's action thriller "The Suspect", whose 542,730 (19.4%) pushed Won's fourth film over the 3 million mark. From there it was the foreign flicks all the way down to Bang Eun-jin's "Way Back Home" in tenth, which marked its fourth week in top ten by adding to 35,764 (1.2%) admissions to its cause...More
"The Attorney" is likely to become this year's first movie to draw 10 million moviegoers. According to the Korean Film Council, a total of 5.69 million people had watched it as of Tuesday. The number had risen to 6 million on Wednesday morning, only 15 days after the flick was released, according to distributer NEW.
If its popularity continues at a similar pace, it could become the fastest film to achieve the milestone in the history of Korean cinema. It needed five fewer days to attract 5 million cinemagoers than last year's "Miracle in Cell No.7". "The Attorney" gained more momentum in its second week, thus raising expectations even higher...More
2013/12/30 | Permalink
Song on song as "The Attorney" rounds out a stellar year…
The Korean box office has ended its record-breaking year on a massive high as Yang Woo-seok's "The Attorney" and Won Shin-yun's "The Suspect" dominated the final weekend. This year's remarkable ticket sales indicate that Koreans are some of the most active filmgoers in the world, with an average of 4.1 trips in 2013 (the U.S. sits on 4.3). Support for local flicks has, indeed, been incredible this year, and the encouragement continued right up until the very end as "The Attorney" and "The Suspect" closed proceedings for the home team in emphatic style...More
Winter is a great time to head to the cinema due to the number of theatrical releases on offer -- many of them with a festive theme -- and also to escape the cold climes outside. Below is a list of the best on offer at the silver screen over Yuletide, whether it be for a family trip, romantic excursion or just good old escapist fare.
◆ Marital Bonds
"Way Back Home" is based on the true story of a regular housewife who is arrested in Paris on a charge of attempting to smuggle over 30 kg of cocaine when she mistakenly thought she was carrying gems for a friend. The woman is subsequently imprisoned on a remote Caribbean island, forcing her husband to take action to fight for her freedom...More
2013/12/23 | Permalink
Song Kang-ho ho ho's "The Attorney" to the Top...
All others were found wanting this past weekend as Yang Woo-seok's "The Attorney" put up a feverish 1.3M (45.2%) admissions ahead of the Christmas celebrations. Last week Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" was the flickering favourite, but the epic feature conceded defeat here as Yang's star-struck local drama ensured the year ended on a local high. The other domestic disturbances were Lee Hyun-jong's racy romance "Catch Me", and an early favouring of Gong Yoo's first action outing: "The Suspect".
The second instalment of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" added 381,794 (13.2%) to its new bottom line of 1.6M ($12M); less than half of what it smuggled in last weekend and now skulks into second after Yang's attractive opening act. "The Attorney" outplayed Mr. B. Baggins and his adventuring entourage with a talented team of its own, employing the powerful prestige of this year's gold-fingered Song Kang-ho (who has already steered two showstoppers to glory: the French-born "Snowpiercer" and the dynastic "The Face Reader"), alongside further gems in Kim Young-ae ("Confession of Murder"), Oh Dal-soo ("Miracle in Cell No.7") and Kwak Do-won ("A Company Man"). "The Attorney" follows a civil rights lawyer through a landmark human rights case during Korea's tumultuous 1980s; a perhaps strange Christmas flick, but one that Korean audiences have lavishly lapped up in week one...More
2013/12/16 | Permalink
Peter Jackson's second instalment of Tolkien's "The Hobbit" gave the Korean box office a much-needed shot in the arm this past weekend. "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" attracted 829,583 (37.2%) filmgoers over 809 screens to snatched first place from Bang Eun-jin's fourth film "Way Back Home", which claimed a substantial 614,297 (25.2%) of its own. The success of both these new features meant that last week's number one, Richard Curtis's "About Time", was relegated to third with just 475,200 (20.3%). Kim Hyun-seok's "11 AM", Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2", and Hong Ji-young "Marriage Blue" were all quarantined to the bottom half as the foreign flicks dominated the upper echelons of the chart...More
The number one movie this week is "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"...More
2013/12/09 | Permalink
Richard Curtis's romantic comedy "About Time" and James Wan's supernatural horror "Insidious: Chapter 2" kept the local flicks at bay with a one-two finish for the away team. "About Time" claimed 477,267 (29.5%) admissions over 568 screens to secure the top spot while Wan's sequel attracted 225,734 (13.2%) filmgoers to his highly profitable horror franchise. Last week's number one, Kim Hyun-seok's "11 AM", slipped two places in light of the above new entries, and walked away with just 158,978 (9.4%) stubs in week two. Similarly, Hong Ji-young "Marriage Blue", Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2", and Lee Deok-hee-I's debut feature "Tumbleweed" all fell accordingly as Korea's final quarter continued to flat line after its stunning and recording-breaking Autumn figures...More
The number one movie this week is "About Time"...More
2013/12/02 | Permalink
It's not too often that a Korean sci-fi is able to come out ahead, and although Kim Hyun-seok's "11 AM" did so with the second lowest first-place total this year, it was still able to topple some big events in the process. "11 AM" claimed 377,165 (21.3%) over 512 screens to outplay last week's number one – Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2" – as well as the not-so-hot "Hunger Games" sequel "Catching Fire". Times are tough at the moment at the Korean box office, and so while the world (the U.S. in particular) is burning up over the Susan Collins's second novel adaptation, the hermit kingdom has withdrawn and spread it limited wealth over just a few worthy features...More
2013/11/25 | Permalink
Korea Proves Fire Retardant as "Friends 2" holds True...
Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2" held onto the top spot despite the arrival of the engrossing "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire". "Catching Fire" smashed the U.S. box office record for a November release, grossing a grotesque $161.1M as fans flooded the theatres to catch the second instalment of "Hunger Games" trilogy. However a slow Korean market proved incombustible in the face of this fiery U.S. action-adventure, choosing instead to re-elect Kwak's popular sequel as it moved onto 2.3 million admissions in its second weekend out...More
2013/11/18 | Permalink
Kwak Gyeong-taek's "Friends 2" blew the God of Thunder away in its first weekend out. Kwak's latest is the sequel to his iconic debut "Friends" (2001) – a landmark feature which earned 8.1 million admissions to became the highest grossing Korean film since the nation's first real blockbuster "Shiri" in 1999. "Friends 2" broke the million admissions mark with the help of 968 screenings around the country, coverage that befriended 50.5% of all the filmgoers active over the weekend. Marvel's "Thor: The Dark World" was grounded due to unfavourable local conditions, dropping 47% from last week to just 346,931 (15.8%). Jeong Yeon-sik's webcomic adaptation "The Five" and the documentary "Black Gospel" were the new Korean releases that managed to crack a top ten finish, while Ridley Scott's "The Counsellor" was the only new foreign feature that was competitive...More
Director Kwak Gyeong-taek's movie "Friends 2" claimed first place of the box office on the day of its release.
According to the Korean Film Commission, "Friends 2" gathered 304,211 audiences on the day of release alone and climbed up to first place of the box office...More
2013/11/11 | Permalink
"Thor: The Dark World" has lit up the top of the Korean box office once again, claiming 655,484 (37%) over 711 screens to advance its total tally now to just over 2 million admissions. Marvel Comic's epic sequel has already grossed $327 million, almost doubling its production budget of $170 million as comic fans, kids, and cinephiles continue to pour in to the theatres to watch Mr. Odinson save the Earth day once again. The highest local flick came in the form of Park Hong-soo's "Commitment", an action drama that tackles Korea's fractured national identity and has Choi Seung-hyun's character torn between higher powers and those he holds dear. "Commitment" is the Park's debut feature and in it he enlisted the help of director/screenwriting Kim Soo-yeong ("Color of Woman", "Vampire Cop Ricky"). Last week no less than six Korean features found themselves in the top tier, however November's second weekend was less forgiving and forcefully ejected "Days of Wrath", "Hwayi : A Monster Boy", and "Top Star" from proceedings...More
The number one movie this week is "Thor: The Dark World"...More
2013/11/04 | Permalink
The God of Thunder has struck the Korean peninsula and taken charge atop its box office. "Thor: The Dark World" hammered home 827,625 admissions to deny "Blood and Ties" a second weekend title as Korea's choice flick. Last week Alfonso Cuarón's "Gravity" and "Blood and Ties" partook in a photo finish whereby the local effort pulled through on ticket stubs, while the big budget blockbuster claimed the cash prize due to its 3D splendour. This past weekend's results, however, put a sharp stop to the squabbling, as a new king was crown in the form of the Marvel's "Thor" and his second eventful arrival on our petty planet...More
The number one movie this week is "Thor: The Dark World"...More
2013/10/28 | Permalink
Gook Dong-seok's disturbing opening act "Blood and Ties" step into the game this past weekend and narrowly claimed the majority vote over last week's favourite: "Gravity". Gook's film drew in a spritely 648,192 filmgoers over 611 screens; a victory somewhat salted by the fact that Cuarón's 3D space thriller still floated away with most of the money (37.3%), for technical reasons. "Hwayi : A Monster Boy" and "Hope" gracefully gave way to Gook's debut, each taking about a hundred thousand admissions hit compared to their efforts last weekend. In addition to "Blood and Ties", Park Joong-hoon's "Top Star" and Shin Yeon-shick's "Rough Play" shook up the middle order somewhat; and the omnibus drama "If You Were Me 6" (4,853 admissions) almost became the fourth new Korean release to snare a top ten finish...More
The number one movie this week is "Blood and Ties" (공범 )...More
2013/10/21 | Permalink
The sci-fi thriller "Gravity" has struck the Korean box office to become the first foreign film to take gold since "Now You See Me" back in August. Alfonso Cuarón's spacey drama snatched 45% (714,419 admissions) of the total ticket sales to outplay last week's number one "Hwayi : A Monster Boy" by some margin. "Gravity" (which stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney) has already made $284M worldwide and its international popularity managed to secure foothold for it in the Korean market. Jang Joon-hwan's action thriller "Hwayi" scoped up 365,175 (18.8%) over 552 screens to advance its total now to just under 2 million admissions, while two new Korean entries ("Fasten Your Seatbelt" and "Queen of the Night") quietly crept into fourth and fifth respectfully with less than 300,000 stubs between them...More
The number one movie this week is "Gravity"...More
2013/10/14 | Permalink
Jang Joon-hwan's "Hwayi : A Monster Boy" opened strong at a peaceful box office this past weekend. Jang, who is best known for his multifaceted debut "Save the Green Planet", has been out of the cinematic limelight for some time now and found his comeback well-supported with 719,454 (45%) admissions in weekend one. Last week's number one, Lee Joon-ik's "Hope", subsequently bowed out into second place with 444,591 (25.5%), followed by "Tough as Iron" (133,250 – 7.7%) and "The Face Reader" (120,126 – 7%). These local flavours dominated the upper echelons of the chart and together constituted 85.9% of the total ticket sales, leaving a string of foreign films to scrap it out for those remaining stubs...More
The number one movie this week is "Hwayi : A Monster Boy" (화이 : 괴물을 삼킨 아이)...More
"Hwayi : A Monster Boy" took over first place in the box office for two straight days.
According to the Korean Films Commission, "Hwayi : A Monster Boy" came in first in the box office with 126,547 audiences. The accumulated number is 494,464...More
2013/10/07 | Permalink
Han Jae-rim's "The Face Reader" relinquished pole position to Lee Joon-ik's new drama "Wish – 2013". Lee has a preference for period pieces with films such as "Hwangsanbul" (2003), "Blades of Blood" (2010), and "Battlefield Heroes" (2010) under his belt, but the director is best known for his period drama "The King and the Clown" which claimed 12.3 million admissions in 2005. Lee's latest is his first film since 2010 and it grabbed some 475,611 (27%) over the weekend, advancing its total tally to just under 800,000. Lee didn't have it all his own way though, "Wish – 2013" had some stiff competition from another local release in the form of Ahn Kwon-tae's "Tough as Iron". Anh's roadside family comedy came out with 407,707 (24%) over 683 screens to secured second place while "The Face Reader" slipped two places in third...More
2013/09/30 | Permalink
Ticket sales slowed considerably in the aftermath of Korea's Chuseok holiday celebrations, but that didn't stop Han Jae-rim's "The Face Reader" from advancing past 8 million admissions ($54M). Last week Han's popular period yarn claimed 2.2 million admissions (51.5%) over a whopping 1,239 screens, but the harvest deities have fled and reduced the blockbuster's momentum here to just 641,786 (36.5%) over 857. "The Face Reader" is also now Korea's 14th highest grossing film of all-time, having just recently passed Kim Han-min's "Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon" (7.4M) and Bae Jong's "Welcome to Dongmakgol" (8M). Han's hit still has more than a million admissions to go if it wants to take on Bong Joon-ho's post-apocalyptic thrill ride "Snowpiercer" (9.3M), a feat that will make it the fifth film in two years to break into the Korea's increasingly unstable top ten...More
The number one movie this week is "The Face Reader" (관상)...More
2013/09/23 | Permalink
The Chuseok king has been crowned as Han Jae-rim's "The Face Reader" stood unopposed at the top of the box office this past weekend. The film has now stormed into Korea's all-time top twenty with less than two weeks on the clock. Han's period piece followed its smashing opening efforts to record another 2.2 million (51.5%) admissions over 1,239 screens. Perfectly timed and critically endorsed, "The Face Reader" channelled Korea's collective consciousness into the concession lines, and is now approaching 7 million admissions with no signs of ceasing. The holiday season was reasonably lucrative for a number of foreign entries as well, with films such as "Monsters University", "Despicable Me 2" and "The Conjuring" being allowed to advance their own tallies into more respectable territories...More
The number one movie this week is "The Face Reader" (관상)...More
2013/09/16 | Permalink
Han Jae-rim's "The Face Reader" dominated Korean cinemas this past weekend, walking away with one of the highest opening weekend hauls of the year. Han's historical drama stole 1.8M admissions (63%) from over 1,190 screens, and has now claimed nearly 2.6 million admissions ($17.1M) in just under a week. Last week's number one, Lee Seung-joon-I's action comedy "The Spy", floundered in second with just 377,861 (12.5%), less than half of what it received the week before. It wasn't just Lee's film that suffered though, a number of foreign entries also found it hard going with even popular animations such as "Monsters University" (5.3%) and "Despicable Me 2" (4.6%) caught blushing in the face of another local showstopper...More
The number one movie this week is "The Face Reader" (관상)...More
2013/09/09 | Permalink
Lee Seung-joon-I's action comedy "The Spy" displaced the French-American caper thriller "Now You See Me See" as Korea's top film this past weekend. "The Spy", Lee's debut feature, claimed 842,457 admissions over 786 screens around the country, dominating proceedings by snatching 44.81% of the weekend's ticket sales. The film was unchallenged at the top, with second place, held by Louis Leterrier's "Now You See Me", scoring just 265,347 (14%) over 414 screens. "The Spy" may be Lee's first feature in the director's chair, but he has worked on a number of successful films in the past, including the disaster epic "Haeundae" and the fast-paced action flick "Quick". Other Korean features such as "Hide and Seek", "Snowpiercer" and "The Flu" continued to stockpile ticket stubs, while Kim Ki-duk's disturbing domestic drama "Moebius" managed to secure a top ten finish in its first weekend out...More
"Hide and Seek", a thriller by rookie director Huh Jung, has attracted over five million viewers in just 19 days.
According to its distributor, cumulative attendance for the flick hit the number early Monday afternoon...More
2013/09/02 | Permalink
The French-American caper thriller "Now You See Me" walked away with the bulk of the ticket sales this past weekend, displacing the Korean features and their impressive reign during the month of August. Louis Leterrier's internationally cast hit claimed 626,867 (25%) in a tightly contested scrap at the top, bring its total tally in Korea to over 2 million admissions. Huh Jung's "Hide and Seek" narrowly missed out on a third consecutive top finish, but did manage to add 563,251 (22.8%) ticket stubs. Huh's debut film has now collected over 5 million admissions since its release earlier this month...More
The number one movie this week is "Now You See Me"...More
2013/08/26 | Permalink
Last weekend the Korean box office was split between local summer hits and foreign animations, with Huh Jung's thriller "Hide and Seek" coming away as the most popular feature. Huh's disturbing domestic thriller once again walked away with the lion's share of admissions, claiming just over a million (33.6%) over 659 screenings around the country. It has been a truly fantastic response by the Korean public to this young director's debut feature, attention that currently makes "Hide and Seek" the eight highest grossing Korean film of the year...More
The number one movie this week is "Hide and Seek" (숨바꼭질)...More
"Hide and Seek" is expected to hit the 3 million viewer mark just eight days after its release on Aug. 14.
According to the Korean Film Council on Thursday, 207,311 tickets for the film had been sold on Wednesday alone, catapulting it to the top spot at the box office...More
Korean films are having the upper hand at local theaters this summer and crowding out their Hollywood rivals.
The Korean Film Council said on Wednesday that director Bong Joon-ho's "Snowpiercer" and Kim Byeong-woo's "The Terror Live" have attracted 8.34 million and 5.14 million spectators, respectively...More
2013/08/19 | Permalink
It was an all Korean affair at the box office this past weekend, with the top four performers all boasting Korean origins. Bong Joon-ho's "Snowpiercer", last week's number one, fell to third in what was a highly competitive weekend at the top. But it was Huh Jung's thriller "Hide and Seek" that came away with the highest honours, opening its account with 1,353,185 (34.2%) admissions. Following Huh's debut effort with 970,229 (24.4%) was the disaster movie "The Flu", director Kim Seong-su's third major feature. "Snowpiercer" and "The Terror Live" filed in at third and forth respectfully, ultimately making the top four an exclusively Korean affair that held almost 90% of all the ticket sales...More
The number one movie this week is "Hide and Seek" (숨바꼭질)...More
2013/08/12 | Permalink
Bong Joon-ho's post-apocalyptic epic "Snowpiercer" and Kim Byeong-woo "The Terror Live" continued their reign of dominance at the top of the Korean box office. Last weekend these two local films claimed almost 80% of the total ticket sales, contributing to record numbers as fans flocked to the theatres to escape the dreaded heat. Despite the abundance of new releases, of both local and foreign flavours, last week's favourites ploughed ahead and once again stole the show.
"Snowpiercer" claimed 1.5 million admissions in its second weekend out, snapping up 44% over 1,066 screens around the country. That moved Bong's English-language debut to 6.4 million in total, a sum that is more than good enough to move into up to fifth in the list of the highest grossing Korean films of the year...More
The number one movie this week is "Snowpiercer" (설국열차)...More
2013/08/05 | Permalink
The first week of August brought some exciting news from Korea as the box office enjoyed its biggest weekend haul in history! Around 4.5 millions tickets were sold with Korea's summer films (led by "The Terror Live" and "Snowpiercer") snatching 80% of the market share. Perhaps it was the perfect storm as residents in Korea felt both the pull of two local blockbusters, as well as the push from the unrelenting summer heat.
Bong Joon-ho's much anticipated sci-fi action film "Snowpiercer" spearheaded this recording-breaking weekend, claiming 2.2 million admissions over 1127 screens. Its sales were electric, making its impressive three day haul the second highest in history; only "Transformer 3"'s 2.3 million can claim to have one up on Bong Joon-ho's latest...More
The number one movie this week is "Snowpiercer" (설국열차)...More
2013/07/29 | Permalink
Despite the release of DreamWorks Animation's "Turbo" and the latest comic book film "The Wolverine", it was "Red 2" that managed to remain Korea's film of choice. Director Dean Parisot's "Red 2" claimed 666,048 admissions (25.9%) in its second weekend out, holding off a host of challengers to round out the month of July in good condition. In addition to these two Hollywood features getting stuck in, this week will also see two mammoth Korean films go head-to-head for the summer crowds and crown.
Bong Joon-ho's "Snowpiercer" and Kim Byeong-woo's "The Terror Live" are both officially released on August 1st, with the latter having already scored a sneaky 122,762 (4.9%) admissions. "The Terror Live" stars the popular Korean actor Ha Jung-woo ("The Berlin File", "Nameless Gangster", "The Client") as a T.V. anchor that has to get back into the game when a bomb-blasting terrorist threatens Korea's capital city...More
The number one movie this week is "Red 2"...More
"Cold Eyes" has hit the 4-million mark in cinema attendance since its release on July 3. According to box office data released by the Korean Film Council on Saturday, the film sold 135,783 tickets on Friday alone to attract a total of 4.13 million viewers.
It became the fifth Korean film this year to draw more than 4 million moviegoers after "Miracle in Cell No.7", "The Berlin File", "New World" and "Secretly and Greatly"...More
2013/07/22 | Permalink
"The Best Never Rest" is the slogan for this week's number one film "RED 2", a sequel to the popular 2010 action comedy. Director Dean Parisot's film claimed the lion's share of the ticket sales over the weekend (832,276), but, unlike previous weeks this month, the admissions were a little more evenly distributed. Last week Kim Yong-hwa's "Mr. Go" was released and, despite a slow start for Korea's first stereoscopic 3D effort, the film eventually managed over 500,000 admissions (19.8%). "Mr. Go" came close to sneaking past Cho Ui-seok and Kim Byeong-seo's "Cold Eyes" (21.3% with 576, 360 admissions) in second, an effort that would've forced "Cold Eyes" to step back from the position it fought so hard for last weekend...More
The number one movie this week is "Red 2 (레드: 더 레전드)"...More
2013/07/15 | Permalink
The American sci-fi flick "Pacific Rim" came to the party last week and, despite being outdone somewhat back home, the film managed to narrowly clinch the top spot during its first weekend out in Korea. Last week it was Cho Ui-seok and Kim Byeong-seo's "Cold Eyes" that stood tall, but the local crime drama found itself around 160,000 admissions short of del Toro's epic robotic rodeo. "Cold Eyes" claimed 1M admissions (36%) over this past weekend, but the $190 million U.S. production "Pacific Rim" managed a few better with 1.16M admissions (44%).
Korea's affinity for large weapons-yielding robots almost ensured the success of this futuristic extravaganza, but the margin was slim and it remains to be seen just how much staying power "Pacific Rim" will actually have in the Korean market. Previous robot-featuring hits like "Iron Man 3" (9M) and "Transformers 3" (7.7M) performed especially well in Korea...More
The number one movie this week is "Pacific Rim"...More
2013/07/08 | Permalink
It is a shift from brain-dead to brilliant as Marc Forster's "World War Z" reluctantly relinquishes the crown to the local action drama "Cold Eyes". After two weeks at the top Forster's zombie epic was convincingly outvoted by this new Korean release that burst out the gates with 1.3 million admissions. Released on the third, "Cold Eyes" is the product of directors Cho Ui-seok ("Make It Big" and "The World of Silence") and cinematographer Kim Byeong-seo (directorial debut).
Starring Sol Kyung-gu, Jung Woo-sung, and Han Hyo-joo, "Cold Eyes" follows two highly observant and intelligent members of the Korean Police Forces Special Crime Unit (SCU). Chief Hwang and his newly appointed Yoon-joo must pull together if they are to stop James, the cold-hearted leader of a criminal organisation who continues to evade their nets...More
The number one movie this week is "Cold Eyes" (감시자들)...More
2013/07/01 | Permalink
Marc Forster's "World War Z" continues its reign at the top of the Korean box office. Forster's post-apocalyptic horror cleared 933,807 (46%) admissions during its second weekend appearance, giving Brad Pitt's latest 3.1M admissions to take to the bank. The film cost $190M to produce and has already comfortably grossed $259M worldwide ($124M of which came from its own U.S. screenings). Last week the film easily dislodged Jang Cheol-soo's "Secretly and Greatly" at the top, pulling in over 800,000 tickets more than Jang's highly successful second feature. This week the Korean showing was a little limp, with only "Secretly and Greatly" and Kim Yong-gyun's "Killer Toon" making the grade.
Summertime is horror time in Korea, and with that comes Kim's new film "Killer Toon" starring Lee Si-young, Uhm Ki-joon and Hyun Woo. The film opened its account with 390,729 (18.6%) admissions and follows the webcomic creator Ji-yoon (played by Lee Si-young)...More
The number one movie this week is "World War Z"...More
2013/06/24 | Permalink
Jang Cheol-soo's "Secretly and Greatly" gets denied a third week at the top courtesy of the Hollywood adaptation "World War Z". The rights to Max Brooks' post-apocalyptic horror were claimed in 2007 by Brad Pitt's own Plan B Entertainment, and tells the tale of a retired UN employee (Pitt's character Gerry Lane) who travels the world in order to stop the zombie pandemic. The film opened in Korea with 1,303,675 (55.56%) admissions, nudging the star-studded "Secretly and Greatly" down one place with 504,997 (20.32%).
Jang Cheol-soo made his debut in 2010 with psychological horror "Bedevilled", a brutally graphic revenge flick that earned him a number of local awards, including four Best New Directors titles. Three years later and Jang emerges with "Secretly and Greatly", an action comedy with a number of popular faces that seemed destined for success...More
The number one movie this week is "World War Z"...More
2013/06/17 | Permalink
Jang Cheol-soo's second directorial effort "Secretly and Greatly" managed to just outplay "The Man of Steel" for another impressive weekend at the top. The action comedy added a little over a million admissions to bring its total count to 5.2M. That makes it the third highest grossing Korean film of the year behind "The Berlin File" (7.1M) and "Miracle in Cell No. 7" (12.8M). Starring Kim Soo-hyun as the sleeper cell agent Ryoo-hwan, "Secretly and Greatly" tells the tale of three North Korean spies adapting to South Korean life, but things get a little interesting when word comes down that they are to committed suicide. Jang Cheol-soo was the man behind the 2009 psychological thriller "Bedevilled" and has worked on a number of Kim Ki-duk's films since 2002. "Secretly and Greatly" marks an interesting turn of genre for this exciting Korean director and has been attracting a lot of attention in Korea since its release earlier in the month...More
The number one movie this week is "Secretly and Greatly" (은밀하게 위대하게)...More
Director Jang Cheol-soo's "Secretly and Greatly" hit the 3-million mark in terms of cinema attendance on Sunday, just five days after it was released. The hit movie attracted 1 million moviegoers in 36 hours and 2 million in 72 hours as it continues to set a series of new records in the history of Korean cinema. It attracted a record number of daily spectators (919,000) on Thursday, saw the most tickets booked before its release, and reached the 1-million mark faster than any other Korean film to date.
The film is a light-hearted comedy revolving around three North Korean agents who disguise themselves, respectively, as a village idiot, a rock star and a high school student while they await their orders from Pyongyang. When their mission turns out to be an order to commit suicide, due to a sudden power shift in the North, none are best pleased...More
The number one movie this week is "Secretly and Greatly" (은밀하게 위대하게)...More
Korean films accounted for just 30.5 percent of total ticket receipts at the box office last month, down from 40 percent in April to a level not seen in over three years as Hollywood blockbusters take center stage, according to the Korean Film Council...More
The number one movie this week is "Star Trek Into Darkness"...More
2013/06/01 | Permalink
Not since the beginning of April has a Korean film managed to claim the top spot at the box office. It was Jo Dong-oh's "Running Man" who last had that honour, but a string of Hollywood hits prevented such local flicks from tasting gold. In April it was Tom Cruise in "Oblivion", followed by Marvel's "Iron Man 3", and this past week saw the "Iron Man" tag Vin Diesel in the sixth instalment of the "Fast and Furious". Although the foreign flicks are still enjoying a long stretch of golden glory, there were a number of Korean films that came close to toppling these outsiders for supremacy...More
2013/05/27 | Permalink
The sixth instalment of the "The Fast and the Furious" series has raced to the top of the chart in its first weekend out. "The Fast and the Furious 6" snatched 625,056 (34%) stubs to deny "Iron Man 3" a fifth straight month at the top of the pile. Both Jeong Geun-seop's "Montage" and Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" kept their good form going, holding down second and third respectfully. The admissions were a lot more evenly spread this past weekend, and only a handful of new entries managed to disrupt proceedings...More
The number one movie this week is "The Fast and the Furious 6"...More
2013/05/20 | Permalink
It was a tightly contested tango and the top this past weekend, but it was once again "Iron Man 3" that came out on top. Marvel's blockbuster took first with 696,310 (27%), which moves its total admissions count in Korea to just under 8.5M. Tony Stark's latest adventure was almost toppled though, with both Jeong Geun-seop's "Montage" and Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" cracking more than 500,000 admissions in their first weekend. In addition to these two new entries, Jeong Ik-hwan comedy drama "Happiness for Sale" and Ken Loach's "The Angels' Share" also made their way into Korean cinemas...More
2013/05/13 | Permalink
"Iron Man 3" once again defended its place at the top of the Korean box office, but this time there were a few new entries to help spread the wealth around. Marvel's metal magician added 1,039,876 (58.22%) admissions to its reign, moving it onto a total ticket count of 7.5M and to second in the list of Korea's highest grossing films of the year. Song Hae-seong sixth feature "Boomerang Family" and the new DreamWorks animation "The Croods" were among the some of more successful new releases that hit Korean cinemas this past weekend...More
The movie "Boomerang Family" started off at second place.
According to the Korean Films Commission on the 10th, 67,089 audiences gathered in 531 theaters to watch "Boomerang Family" which was released on the 9th and rode up to second place. The accumulated number is 74,419...More
2013/05/06 | Permalink
Tony Stark may be under some psychological pressure in his third outing but his Korean fans continued to storm the cinemas in support. "Iron Man 3" once again dominated proceedings over this past weekend, adding 1,865,121 (75%) admissions and bringing its total tally now to almost six million. That places Marvel's blockbuster as the third highest grossing release in Korea for 2013; just behind "The Berlin File" (7.1 Million), which it will surely surpass in the coming week. There were only three new entries that made the top grade this past weekend: Lee Jong-pil's "The Singing Contest, a re-release of "Finding Nemo 3D", and the Japanese animation "One Stormy Night"...More
2013/05/04 | Permalink
April proved to be a slow month at the box office as local films gave way to foreign favourites. It wasn't until last weekend that things were given a shot in the arm as Marvel's blockbuster "Iron Man 3" sounded the horn that cause more than 2 million fans to stream in. Tom Cruise's latest efforts in "Oblivion" held down the top spot during the middle weeks, leaving Jo Dong-oh's "Running Man" to be the only Korean film to taste gold in week one. The release of both "Oblivion" and "Iron Man 3" denied Kang Woo-seok's eighth film "Fist of Legend" any traction, leaving to sit in second place spinning its tyres for much of the month...More
2013/04/29 | Permalink
Marvel's "Iron Man 3" has jolted Korean cinephiles into action after a lethargic month at the movies. The popular comic book franchise opened with 2,202,252 admissions, taking in more than 80% of all tickets sold over the weekend. That's more than the combined admissions count of the top films in the last four weeks! It was also given a fair bit of support from the cinema houses, opening to an incredible 1,380 screenings around the country ("The Berlin File" was only other film this year to enjoy such a release, and it opened with just 894). It's an impressive response from both the industry and the Korean public, but such a top-heavy weekend resulted in a dismal performance by everyone else in the chart...More
2013/04/22 | Permalink
The science fiction action flick "Oblivion" managed to hold onto first place in what was one of the year's quietest weekends at the box office. Tom Cruise's latest held down first with only 367,022 (30%), the lowest admissions count for first this year. Tom Cruise is a popular figure in Korea and, despite some close competition from Kang Woo-seok's "Fist of Legend", his latest representation was able to cling onto gold. "Oblivion" had 563 screens around the country from which to pool admissions from, and this past weekend saw it advance its total tally to 1,204,448...More
The number one movie this week is "Oblivion"...More
2013/04/15 | Permalink
Korea's love for all things Tom Cruise proves itself once again this week as the Hollywood actor's new film "Oblivion" takes the top spot. The film is based off an unpublished graphic novel from the director Joseph Kosinski ("Tron: Legacy") and Arvid Nelson. Mr. Kosiniski said that the film pays homage to the 1970s and the science fiction films of that era. 530,069 (34%) admissions were enough for the film to hold first position over 638 screenings around the country. The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, Zoë Bell, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. The sci-fi genre seems to fit Cruise's acting persona well and the thousands of Korean cinephiles that came out over the weekend to see him in action would not disagree...More
The number one movie this week is "Oblivion"...More
2013/04/08 | Permalink
Jo Dong-oh's action thriller "Running Man" is off to a good start as it snatched the top spot in its first weekend out. The film claimed 501,908 (30.89%) admissions over 568 screens, only just pushing outs its closest rival "G.I. Joe 2" which came close itself with 464,619 (30.49%). "Running Man" stars Shin Ha-kyun as Cha Jong-woo, a young man who accidentally gets caught up in a murder case and soon finds himself on the run because of it. This week's chart saw a number of new entries both local and foreign, in addition to some regular faces that have made the top ten their own the last few months. But overall admissions were low, with only the top two films seeing much action in this quieter week at the movies...More
The number one movie this week is "Running Man" (런닝맨)...More
2013/04/01 | Permalink
The second G.I. Joe film has hit the Korean peninsula and, with help of Lee Byung-hun as 'Storm Shadow' no doubt, has managed to secure first position. "G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation" snatched 708,267 admissions (43%) over 761 screens to make it only the second foreign film this year to make it to number one. The Korean actor Lee Byung-hun ("Masquerade" and "I Saw the Devil") shows that he still has quiet some pull with fans as the Korean public, after a relatively quiet March, have warmly welcomed his latest action efforts....More
The number one movie this week is "G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation"...More
2013/03/25 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.03.08 ~ 2013.03.10)
Roh Deok debut film "Very Ordinary Couple" landed in first place with 538,875 (31.9%) this past weekend. Roh's romantic melodrama draws on her own personal experiences of life and love in what is expected to be a fresh take on the Korea's romance genre. The film stars Lee Min-ki ("Spellbound") and Kim Min-hee ("Helpless") as they battle the probability of getting back together after their breakup. In addition to Roh Deok first effort, this past week also saw the release of number of new films that managed to keep things interesting during this period of relatively low admissions...More
The number one movie this week is "Very Ordinary Couple" (연애의 온도)...More
Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle "The Last Stand", which was released in Korea on Feb. 21, has tanked at the box office and dropped off the list after attracting only 66,698 spectators in just under a month.
The film is directed by Kim Jee-woon, who shot to fame with "The Good, the Bad and the Weird", but the combination of top director and star was unable to attract viewers. This appears to be part of a wider trend where star power is fading in favor of strong storylines.
Film booking site Maxmovie asked 2,754 members of its website from Feb. 26 to March 6 what they consider when choosing a movie and found that a massive 74.2 percent said the plot is the most important factor...More
2013/03/18 | Permalink
For the first time this year a foreign film has managed to claim the top spot in Korea's weekend box office. With 423,336 admissions, Jonathan Levine's "Warm Bodies" is the first outside entry to make it all the way to the top. However it does so with the lowest ticket count for first place this year. "Warm Bodies" is an adaptation from Isaac Marion's book of the same name; it's a paranormal romance that takes a zombie's perspective as he pursues his living love interest. "Warm Bodies" claimed 26.0% of the total ticket sales with the help of 475 screenings around the country. There were a string of new releases last week that caused a serious reshuffle in this weekend's top ten, including Yoon Jong-chan's "Paparoti", the Oscar winner "Lincoln", as well as the Italian animation "Gladiators of Rome" in 3D...More
The number one movie this week is "Warm Bodies"...More
2013/03/11 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.03.08 ~ 2013.03.10)
Park Hoon-jung's "The New World" enjoyed its third successive weekend as Korea's number one film. Park's action thriller added 508,889 (30.9%) stubs to move its total admissions count to 3.3 million. Park's second feature withstood the continuous pressure from Lee Hwan-gyeong's silver bullet hit "Miracle in Cell No.7", which itself is now standing in its eighth week. "Miracle in Cell No.7" has never slipped past second place, and its numbers continue to swell to record-breaking heights. Three other films came into the charts this past weekend that, although weren't able to cause much distress at the top of pile, did cause a shuffle in the upper echelons of Korea's top ten...More
The number one movie this week is "The New World" (신세계)...More
2013/03/04 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.03.01 ~ 2013.03.03)
Leading us into it the month of March was Park Hoon-jung's "The New World" as it stretched its lead on Lee Hwan-hyeong's golden child "Miracle in Cell No.7". The two films were separated by just 5,000 admissions last weekend, but it was Park's latest that managed to pull ahead this time around. This cops and robbers action film scored 849,378 (29.43%) admissions, moving its total to 2.5 million since its release two weeks ago. In addition to the top local films slugging it out there were a number of new inclusions that came into the fray this week, including Park Chan-wook's first English-language film "Stoker"...More
Korean Box Office for the Weekend 2013.03.01 ~ 2013.03.03
The number one movie this week is "The New World" (신세계)...More
2013/03/02 | Permalink
Lee Hwan-gyeong's "Miracle in Cell No.7" continued to dominate proceedings this past month, advancing its admissions tally to just over 11 million ($74M). After being released late in January, "Miracle in Cell No.7" came into the charts to beat off Korea's second highest grossing film of the year, Ryoo Seung-wan's espionage thriller "The Berlin File" (6,904,728). Lee Hwan-gyeong's would have completely stolen the show, but was marginally outdone in the first and fourth weeks by "The Berlin File" and, then again, by Park Hoon-joeng-I's "The New World".
"The Berlin File" hit the Korean market a week after Lee's big moneymaker, and for that week it did manage to outshine Lee's hit, if only by a small margine. Many were excited to see what Ryoo's latest piece had to offer, as his last film, the gripping 2010 crime thriller "The Unjust", did more than turn a few heads...More
2013/02/24 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.02.22 ~ 2013.02.24)
After dominating proceedings for the past month, Lee Hwan-hyeong's "Miracle in Cell No.7" has given way to Park Hoon-jung's "The New World". Park was credited for the scripts of "The Unjust" and "I Saw the Devil", but "The New World" marks only his second film in the director's seat. The film stars Lee Jung-jae, Choi Min-sik and Hwang Jung-min in an action thriller that probes the spaces between Korea's National Police Agency and organised crime. "The New World" opened on Thursday and walk away from the weekend with more than 1 million admissions in its pocket...More
The number one movie this week is "The New World" (신세계)...More
2013/02/17 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.02.15 ~ 2013.02.17)
After last weekend's fiercely contested race, it was Lee Hwan-hyeong's "Miracle in Cell No.7" that once again came out on top. Lee's popular comedy drama scooped around 1.1 million admissions (41.19%) to further cements itself as the highest grossing Korean film of the year. "Miracle in Cell No.7" is now approaching 9 million admissions, just ahead of this weekend's number two film: "The Berlin File" which also moves onto 5.9 million admissions of its own. Fresh to the charts are two new Korean films in the form of Lee Wonsuk's "How to Use Guys with Secret Tips", as well as Yim Soon-rye's "Run to the South"...More
2013/02/11 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.02.08 ~ 2013.02.10)
It was another closely fought race at the box office this past weekend, but it was Lee Hwan-hyeong's "Miracle in Cell No.7" that reclaimed pole position with 1.3 million admissions (37.12%). Lee's latest had over 800 screenings to help its cause as it now moves to 6,279,229 admissions, making it the highest grossing Korean film of the year thus far. The Lunar New Year weekend saw the release of a number new films, including Kim Soon-rye's new comedy drama "Run to the South", an old Russian fairy tale retold in glorious 3D animation, as well the fifth instalment in the popular "Die Hard" franchise...More
2013/02/04 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.02.01 ~ 2013.02.03)
February is off with a bang as two Local favourites breached the million admissions mark, together making up more than 80% of this past weekend's ticket sales. Ryoo Seung-wan's action thriller "The Berlin File" led the charge with 1.53 million admissions (43.4% over 894 screens), followed by last weekend's choice film "Miracle in Cell No.7" with 1.36 million (37.5% over 866 screens). "The Berlin File" came out on the 30th and stars Ha Jung-woo, Han Suk-kyu, Ryoo Seung-bum and Jun Ji-hyun as a South Korean intelligence agent comes across an unidentified player while spying on a North Korean weapons deal in Berlin. Ryoo Seung-wan's last film was "The Unjust" back in 2010, an epic crime thriller than seemed to hit all the right notes. Ryoo will be hoping his latest will be able to emulate his last films popularity, and with already 2,24 millions admissions under the belt "The Berlin File" is set to do just that...More
The number one movie this week is "The Berlin File" (베를린)...More
2013/02/02 | Permalink
It was a hard month for foreign films here in Korea as January favoured three local films that, between them, held a tight grip on the ticket sales. Lee Hwan-gyeong's "Miracle in Cell No.7" may have stolen the show in the last weekend of the month, but it was Kim Ji-hoon's fiery epic "The Tower" and Jo Jin-kyoo's 5th comedy "Man on the Edge" that held that top position until then. In the foreign corner, two adaptations stood out in the form of the musical drama "Les Misérables" and "Life of Pi". The former has grossed $38.6 million over its six week run in Korean theatres, with "The Tower" close behind on $34.4 million...More
2013/01/27 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.01.25 ~ 2013.01.27)
Lee Hwan-hyeong's "Miracle in Cell No.7" stormed the top ten this past weekend to snatch 42% of tickets sales (1,241,737 admissions). Lee's previous film ("The Champ") struggled at the box office and only collected 535,766 admissions during its run last year. In rising to the top, "Miracle in Cell No.7" dislodged Jo Jin-kyoo's "Man on the Edge" (previous known as "The Gangster Shaman") at the top of the pile and was also able to quell the kids' enthusiasm over Korea's favourite penguin Pororo and his new film: "Pororo, The Racing Adventure"...More
2013/01/21 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.01.18 ~ 2013.01.20)
The Korean comedy "Man on the Edge" by Jo Jun-kyoo managed to retain its number one status for the second weekend running. The film logged nearly 900,000 admissions this past weekend and was the clear favourite among moviegoers. "Man on the Edge" stars Park Shin-yang as a gangster who also lives a double life as a shaman; Kim Jung-tae, Uhm Ji-won and Jeong Hey-yeong accompany him on screen as this unique blend of comedy continues to thrills fans. The film now moves onto more than 2.5 million admissions since its release on the ninth...More
The number one movie this week is "Man on the Edge" (박수건달)...More
2013/01/13 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.01.11 ~ 2013.01.13)
Jo Jun-kyoo's "Man on the Edge" has entered the chart sporting tops honours with 796,000 admissions. This is Jo's sixth film since his 2001 debut "My Wife Is a Gangster", and now Jo returns to the comedy-gangster genre and has been welcomed by the Korean public and fans. This meant that last week's number one, Kim Ji-hoon's "The Tower", had to take a step back but in the process still moved passed the 4 million admissions mark. Two new Korean films also entered the top ten, as well as the fantasy epic "Cloud Atlas"...More
The number one movie this week is "Man on the Edge" (박수건달)...More
2013/01/07 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.01.04 ~ 2013.01.06)
The first weekend of 2013 has rewarded Korean director Kim Ji-hoon with an improved follow-up to his 2011 flop "Sector 7" (2,239,331) in the form of this weekend's number on film "The Tower". Kim's intense new drama claimed 812,839 admissions in the first weekend of the New Year, moving its total now to 3,539,877 since its release on Christmas day. "The Tower" stars Sol Kyung-gu, Son Ye-jin and Kim Sang-kyung as a group of dedicated fire fighters persevere to extinguish a Christmas Eve fire in a high-rise building. This is one of only two only Korean films in the top ten this week, the others being Jeong Gi-hoon's "Love 911" and Jeong Yong-ki's "Marrying the Mafia – Return of the Family"...More
The number one movie this week is "The Tower" (타워)...More
The number one movie this week is "Les Misérables"...More
The number one movie this week is "The Hobbit"...More
2012/12/10 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2012.12.07 ~ 2012.12.09)
Jo Geun-hyeon's drama "26 Years" managed to hold onto another first place position at the box office this past weekend. Heun-hyeon's latest entered the chart at the end of last month where it was the choice film with almost 700,000 admissions. Its second week almost matched that performance with 606,882, putting it on a total admission count of 1,815,882. In addition to Geun-hyeon's "26 Years", the romantic comedy "Whatcha Wearin'?" was released along with the new and improved "Dredd 3D"...More
The number one movie this week is "26 Years" (26년)...More
2012/12/03 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2012.11.30 ~ 2012.12.02)
Jo Sung-hee's triumphant fantasy drama "A Werewolf Boy" finally relinquishes the top spot after four weeks as Korea's choice film. The film was pushed down the line by Jo Geun-hyeon's action drama "26 Years" which claimed the lion's share of the ticket sales with 663,709. Jo Geun-hyeon has worked on the production of a number of successful Korea films (e.g. "A Tale of Two Sisters" and "The Concubine") but "26 Years" is his first major attempt at directing. His film stars Jin Goo, Han Hye-jin, Im Seulong, and Lee Kyung-young in an action drama about an elite team tasked with convicting the "the person" responsible for the 1980 Gwangju massacre...More
The number one movie this week is "26 Years" (26년)...More
2012/11/25 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2012.11.23 ~ 2012.11.25)
"Breaking Dawn: Part 2" once again struggle to surpass Jo Sung-hee's popular fantasy drama "A Werewolf Boy" as the battle for supernatural supremacy continued at the box office. "A Werewolf Boy" claimed some 550 880 admissions, and only narrowly dodged the big Hollywood hit which itself claimed 468, 965. Still admissions were lower this week with both these two powerhouses attracting half of what the weekend of the 24th bestowed upon them. Jo Sung-hee's film is also on the verge of overtaking "The Dark Knight Rises" as the fourth highest grossing film released in Korea this year. The latest Batman scored 6,396,528 admissions and currently "A Werewolf Boy" has stormed to 6,015,700 since its release at the end of last month...More
2012/11/18 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2012.11.16 ~ 2012.11.18)
Despite its fanatical global following the much anticipated "Breaking Dawn: Part II" was not able to outdo Jo Sung-hee's "A Werewolf Boy" as the top seed this past weekend. An extremely tight race saw Sung-hee earn its third weekend at the top with 901,841 admissions (34.4%), helped along with 678 screenings around the country. Bill Condon's vampire and werewolf sensation was tantalizingly close to jumping straight to the top, but was forced to settle for second as it entered the chart with 880,696 (34.6%) admissions. In addition to this clash of mythological love tales, this week saw the start of another Korean film in the form of Bae Hyeong-joon's "Jackal is Coming", as well as an interesting new horror called "Sinister" by the American director Scott Derrickson...More
2012/11/12 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2012.11.09 ~ 2012.11.11)
Jo Sung-hee's "A Werewolf Boy" enjoyed its second week at the top of the pile as it swiftly overtook "Unbowed" (3,434,694) as the ninth highest grossing Korean film of 2012. Not since "Masquerade"'s opening weekend has a film captured this much of the ticket sales. Its 51.6% (1,333,842) more than doubled its closest rival as Sung-hee's latest pushed on to 3,603,946 admissions. In general the Korea films were slightly in the minority this week, with a few new foreign flicks making their play for the Korean public's interest...More
"A Werewolf Boy" grabs #1 at Korean box office on opening night and logs 1.3 million admissions over the first weekend!
Coming to North American theaters in late November!
South Korean theaters scared up more than candy and costumes on October 31st – a supernatural buzz filled the air as audiences were enchanted by "A Werewolf Boy", CJ Entertainment's fantasy romance starring up-and-coming stars Song Joong-ki and Park Bo-young...More
2012/11/04 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2012.11.02 ~ 2012.11.04)
This last weekend saw Jo Sung-hee's supernatural love story "A Werewolf Boy" nudge 007 for the win. The film is off to a promising start as it claimed 1,030,285 (48.7%) admissions in its opening weekend. That's more than double the efforts of last week's number one "Skyfall" which only managed 458,998 (22.8%). Jo Sung-hee was also responsible for the 2012 drama "End of Animal" and contributed to 2009 omnibus film "Nice Shorts". "A Werewolf Boy" stars Song Joong-ki ("Penny Pinchers") and Park Bo-young ("Don't Click") in a fantasy drama that seems to be hitting all the right notes with the Korean public, so far...More
2012/10/29 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2012.10.26 ~ 2012.10.28)
After six weeks as Korea's number one film and nearly eleven million admissions, Choo Chang-min's "Masquerade" is finally overthrown by Britian's favourite secret agent. "Skyfall" is 007's latest adventure that sees Daniel Craig star along side Helen McCrory and Javier Bardem as Bond's loyalties are put the test as M16 comes under attack. The film opened in Korea this past weekend and claimed 871,819 (45.6%) admissions with the help of some 749 screens around the country...More
The number one movie this week is "Skyfall"...More
Since its South Korean release on September 13th and its North American release in select cities on September 21st, historical drama "Masquerade" has experienced sweeping success in both countries. In South Korea, "Masquerade" has been topping the weekend box office for six consecutive weeks, reaching 10 million in admissions and becoming the 7th movie in Korean film history to surpass the number. Following a Red Carpet Premiere at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art with Lee Byung-hun and a limited U.S. release, "Masquerade" is now expanding to six more cities, including the brand new Angelika Mosaic in Washington D.C. See added list of theaters and release dates below:...More
2012/10/22 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2012.10.19~ 2012.10.21)
Choo Chang-min's "Masquerade" managed to reach more than 10 million admissions! Week six on the top of the chart saw it climb to the second highest grossing film of the year, behing the seemingly insurmountable "The Thieves". "Masquerade" was released half-way through September and since then it has refused to relinquish its position at the top, making it six straight weeks as number one; a particularly challenging task consider the number of new Korean entries that recently made their way to the big screen. These included Bang Eun-jin's "Suspect X", "A Company Man" by Lim Sang-yoon, and Son Seok's documentary on the popular Korean boy band "Infiinite"...More
2012/10/14 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2012.10.12~ 2012.10.14)
This past weekend saw a number of new entries make a stand but none where able to dismount Choo Chang-min's "Masquerade" as the choice film for the fifth weekend running. "Masquerade" has amassed nearly 10 million admissions, 683,903 of which came from this past weekend alone. Lim Sang-yoon's film "A Company Man" almost broke that streak as it entered the chart in second place with 468,316 admissions of its own...More
2012/10/08 | Permalink
Choo Chang-min's "Masquerade" is living a privileged life as it enjoys its fourth week as Korea's number one. "Masquerade" came into the fray as the top film mid-September and has not looked back since, stubbornly holding on to that position over the rest of the month and now into October. The total admission counts were lower than previous weeks, with "Masquerade" taking gold with less than a million admissions. Kim Ki-duk's "Peita" was also ejected from the top ten, leaving just three other Korean films to compete with international features...More
2012/10/06 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review (2012.09)
It took ten long weeks at the weekend box office to see off Choi Dong-hoon's "The Thieves", a monumental run that earned the film a recording-breaking 13 million admissions during that time. August was indeed the month its sales caught fire, and the month of September was just a glory lap as it gracefully bows out of the limelight and into the history books.
In addition to the re-writing of the history books, September showed a wavering level of enthusiasm for some of this month's foreign inclusions. Although, "The Bourne Legacy" was able to enter the second weekend on top, snatching 29.3% of the ticket sales in the process. This was the first time a foreign film had held the weekend number one since "The Dark Knight Rises" some seven weeks earlier. In fact, the shelf life for foreign films was on average 2~3 weeks in the top ten...More
2012/10/01 | Permalink
HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2012.09.28~ 2012.09.30)
The last weekend of September has been kind to Choo Chang-min's "Masquerade". Choo's historical drama added 1,379,147 (47.7%) to its cause, making this the third week running the film has broken the million admissions mark and claimed gold. In addition to its consistent run through the month of September, "Masquerade" has now surpassed "The Grand Heist" and "Nameless Gangster" as the second highest grossing Korean film of 2012, just behind the recording-breaking "The Thieves", which itself is still sitting pretty with almost 13,000,000 tickets sold!...More
Director Kim Ki-duk's "Pieta", which won the best film award at this year's Venice Film Festival, is about to hit the 500,000 mark in terms of the number of viewers it has attracted...More
2012/09/24 | Permalink
The local flavors took the honors this past weekend with the top two films being Korean and claiming close to 70% of the ticket sales. With 1,192,689 admissions, Choo Chang-min's "Masquerade" secured another week as number one, jumping past "The Concubine" as the ninth highest grossing Korean film of the year. Choo's historical drama snatched 60.5% of the moviegoers with the new Korean film "Spy", Woo Min-ho's second feature film, slotting into second with 341,697...More
"Masquerade" has attracted over 1 million viewers in just four days since it was released Thursday...More
2012/09/17 | Permalink
Tony Gilroy's "The Bourne Legacy" wasn't able to hold down the top spot over the weekend, ultimately being surpassed by Kim Ki-duk's "Peta" as well as two new releases both foreign and domestic. But it was Choo Chang-min's "Masquerade" that turned out to be the big favorite with 1,100,859 admissions, that accounted for and 53.3% of ticket sales over the weekend. Previously known as "The King of Joseon", it tells the familiar tale of the commoner come King in this historical drama. "Masquerade" stars