Korea Box Office: ‘I, The Executioner’ Reaches $40 Million After Second Weekend, as ‘Begin Again’ Enjoys Return

As a movie enthusiast who’s been following the Korean film industry for quite some time now, I must say that “I The Executioner” has truly shown its mettle at the box office. The film’s dominance is a testament to the quality of Korean cinema and the audience’s appreciation for homegrown talent.


For the second consecutive weekend, the popular local film “The Executioner” ruled the South Korean box office, amassing a total of 40 million dollars over a ten-day period since its debut.

The movie, titled “I, The Executioner” and following the 2015 crime comedy drama “The Veteran,” had a quiet debut week with few major competing titles. This trend persisted during its second weekend as well, even outside of holidays.

From Friday to Sunday over the past week, the movie garnered a total of $6.63 million as per data from Kobis, the monitoring service run by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). In just ten days, it has made a grand total of $40.7 million, attracting 5.61 million viewers.

Over the weekend, there was a significant 56% decrease compared to the previous week. However, it’s important to note that this drop is unusual because the prior weekend marked the initial days of a five-day holiday. Despite this anomaly, the film continued to hold a commanding lead in the market, accounting for more than 71% of its share.

During Chuseok, the movie industry experienced a varied outcome. According to Kofic, the number of spectators for the five-day span reached 4.66 million, marking a 50% increase compared to the previous year. However, this figure was lower than the 5.13 million people who attended cinemas during the same weekend in 2019.

As a movie enthusiast, I must confess that it was only one movie that truly struck a chord last year during Chuseok. Amidst the release of three ambitious films – “Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman: Secret of Snowy Field,” “Boston 1947,” and “Cobweb” – it seemed that the others didn’t resonate as much with audiences.

After the holiday weekend, with fewer new movies released and the lingering “post-holiday blues,” moviegoing patterns returned closer to usual. Across the nation, weekend box office earnings totaled approximately $9.23 million.

In the end, the top-scoring fresh release turned out to be a re-release of the classic Hollywood romance, “Begin Again.” Directed by John Carney in 2014, this film brought in $331,000 and placed a strong second.

The animated film “Heartsping: Teeniping of Love” earned third place with a total of $307,000, bringing its overall earnings to $7.36 million. Originally from a children’s TV series, it now ranks among the top-earning Korean animations ever made.

In a recent turn of events, the Korean animation titled “Bread Barbershop: The Birth of the Bread Star” has slipped to the fourth position. It has amassed a total of $1.22 million since its release on September 14th, with this week’s earnings amounting to $269,000.

I enthusiastically share that the concert film, “Lim Young Woong IM HERO The Stadium,” has impressively secured the fifth position on local box office charts this weekend, earning a substantial revenue of approximately $262,000. Over time, it’s amassed a remarkable total of $6.35 million since its release on August 28th. What an incredible achievement!

The Japanese animated movie titled “Look Back” ranked sixth, earning approximately $194,000 over the course of its first 19 days in theaters, bringing its total earnings to around $1.45 million.

The sci-fi series ‘Alien: Romulus’ has garnered a total of $15.1 million so far, with each episode costing approximately $159,000. It continues to be supported by its consistent presence in high-end broadcasting platforms.

As a die-hard Transformers fan, I’m thrilled to share that “Transformers One” managed to make its debut on the charts at the eighth spot, thanks to early screenings! These previews generated an impressive $89,000 over the weekend, and with that, the movie has already earned a substantial $270,000 in Korea before its official release. I can’t wait to see it unfold on the big screen!

In the latest box office figures, the re-release of the Chinese film “Better Days” brought in $88,000, pushing its total earnings to approximately $1.88 million. Meanwhile, the Korean panda documentary “My Dearest Fu Bao,” which started showing on September 4th, added $76,900 to its cumulative earnings, now standing at around $1.66 million.

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2024-09-23 04:47