Korea Box Office: ‘Wicked,’ ‘Hidden Face’ Take top Places

As a seasoned cinephile with a penchant for international cinema, I must admit that the recent box office performance in South Korea leaves me somewhat disheartened. The sheer dominance of global blockbusters like “Wicked” is undeniably impressive, but it’s also concerning to see local productions struggle to capture the attention of Korean audiences.


The movie ‘Wicked,’ the top-grossing film worldwide this past weekend, surprisingly did not provide the needed boost to the South Korean box office market.

In Korea, the fantasy movie directed by Jon M. Chu garnered approximately 45% of the box office, earning $3.58 million from 501,000 ticket sales over the weekend (Friday to Sunday). Over a span of five days, its total earnings reached $4.64 million. On the other hand, the Korean-produced film “Hidden Face” secured the second spot with earnings of $1.75 million and a market share of more than 21%. During its entire five-day opening weekend, it amassed $2.41 million in total revenue.

Under the direction of Kim Dae-woo (“Obsessed”), this film represents a remake of the 2011 Spanish-Colombian movie with the same title. The narrative revolves around a woman who is believed to have vanished, but in reality, she’s confined within a hidden room in her own home. She finds herself as an unseen witness as her fiancé develops a romantic relationship with another woman. Notable cast members include Cho Yeo-jeong, Song Seung-heon, and Park Ji-hyun.

Over the weekend, new films boosted the box office earnings to $7.96 million, an increase from $5.71 million the week before. However, another weak session with earnings under $10 million indicates more hardships for Korean movie distributors and theater owners. These days, Korean audiences are opting for online alternatives and are only showing up for major event films.

In its debut weekend, “Gladiator II” dropped from the number one spot to finish at third. It made approximately $978,000 during the period from Friday to Sunday, bringing its cumulative earnings up to around $5.12 million after 12 days.

As a passionate film lover, I’m thrilled to share that “Listen to Us This Summer” garnered an impressive $624,000 during its third weekend in theaters. This heartwarming Korean remake of a 2009 Taiwanese romantic comedy has captivated audiences for 19 days now, accumulating a total of $4.72 million. The story revolves around a young man assisting his hearing-impaired swimmer sister and finding himself falling in love with a girl he encounters along the way.

Over the weekend, the newly premiered Japanese animated film “My Hero Academia the Movie: You’re Next” made a total of $204,000. During its first five days in theaters, it grossed an additional $308,000.

In the box office rankings, “Venom: The Last Dance” secured a sixth position with earnings of $116,000. With a cumulative total of $12.2 million since October 23, the movie narrowly missed being among the top ten highest-grossing Korean films this year.

In their respective re-releases, the Japanese film “Even if This Love Disappears From the World Tonight” and the Korean movie “Devils Stay” each grossed $95,000 during their second weekends.

In the U.S., “The Wild Robot” animation series continued to bring in $42,000, bringing its cumulative earnings to $4.4 million. After 4 weekends in theaters, the Korean comedy-drama “Amazon Bullseye” added another $20,000 to its total, now standing at $3.79 million.

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2024-11-25 10:16