“Assassination,” a domestic action film featuring colonial-era assassination attempts by Korean independence fighters, had drawn 11.39 million moviegoers by Saturday, surpassing the 11.37 million record set by “The Attorney,” according to computerized box-office figures from the Korean Film Council.
(image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – After suffering a crushing defeat against Hollywood blockbusters in the first half of the year, Korean films reclaimed local box office backed by successes of two Korean action flicks — “Assassination” and “Veteran” — this month.
Released on July 22, “Assassination” by veteran director Choi Dong-hoon has already passed the 11 million mark while “Veteran,” which opened two weeks later, is soon expected to surpass the 10 million milestone.
The situation is far different from that in the first half when American films such as “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” and “Jurassic World” dominated the box office, accounting for 57.7 percent of the ticket sales in local theaters. Only 42.5 percent of the audiences opted to view Korean films.’
As of Tuesday, Korean films swept the top four posts in the daily box office chart released by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the official market tracker. They were “Veteran,” a cop movie; “Beauty Inside,” a fantasy romance; “Assassination,” a period action; and “Wonderful Nightmare,” a comedy, in that order.
Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, “Veteran” depicts a confrontation between a police detective and an heir of a family-owned conglomerate known here as “chaebol.” It stars Hwang Jung-min as Seo Do-cheol, a hot-blooded detective with a strong sense of justice, and Yoo Ah-in as Jo Tae-oh, an arrogant and cruel chaebol heir.
“Beauty Inside” starring actress Han Hyo-joo follows a woman who falls in love with a man who changes into a different person every day.
“Assassination” is about three Korean independence fighters assigned the mission to assassinate a top Japanese official during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.
The chart has only four non-Korean films at the top 10 posts — “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,” “Inside Out,” “Fantastic 4″ and “Minions.” Industry experts say, if the current trend continues, “Veteran” is almost sure to top 10 million in the accumulated number of viewers this weekend.
If so, this would set a new record in Korean film history that two local films that opened in the same season surpassed the 10 million mark together.
Also drawing keen attention is whether the film will break the record set by the American action flick “Fast & Furious 7″ as a film that has stayed at No. 1 on the daily chart for the longest period this year. “Veteran” remained on top of the chart for 21 consecutive days until Tuesday.
The 10 million mark is considered a huge success for average budget films in the local film market. Only 14 films have reached the milestone so far with 10 of them Korean, according to the KOFIC data.
The 10 Korean films are: “Roaring Currents” (17.61 million), “Ode to My Father” (14.25 million),” “The Thieves” (12.98 million), “Miracle in Cell No. 7″ (12.81 million), “Masquerade” (12.32 million), “Assassination,” “The Attorney” (11.37 million), “Haeundae” (11.32 million), “The Host” (10.91 million), and “The King and the Clown” (10.51 million).
The four non-Korean films are “Avatar” (13.3 million), “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (10.49 million), “Frozen” (10.29 million) and “Interstellar” (10.27 million).’
According to an e-mail survey conducted by the center on Aug. 17-19 on 1,219 people who have used the CGV chain theaters more than once over the past three months, local films took the top seven posts on the list of the most-anticipated films for the second half.
“The Throne,” a period drama depicting the story of a crown prince who never acceded to the throne during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), received the most attention with 67.2 percent.
The latest work by Korean filmmaker Lee Joon-ik, who amassed more than 10 million viewers for his 2005 hit “The King and The Clown,” stars veteran actor Song Kang-ho and the rising young star Yoo Ah-in in “Veteran.”
“American Ultra,” set to open on Thursday, is drawing attention for depicting an amnesiac spy trope, which is unprecedented in the history of Hollywood spy movies.
The lead character of “Ant-Man,” a film based on the Marvel Comics superhero by the same name, is a man armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength.
The selling point of the film set to be out on Sept. 3 is the special effects-aided depiction of the huge world seen in the eyes of the shrunken Ant-Man.
“Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” a sequel to “The Maze Runner” (2014), is scheduled to open on Sept. 17. Based on “The Scorch Trials,” the second book in James Dashner’s “The Maze Runner” trilogy, the upcoming American dystopian sci-fi film depicts the lead character, along with 19 other boys, entrapped in another world “Scorch” after surviving horrific conditions in the Maze.
Also among the upcoming films are “Everest,” a British 3D biographical disaster thriller-adventure drama film; “The Martian,” an American sci-fi movie directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon; “The Hunger Games: The Final,” the final installment in the Hunger Games series; “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the seventh installment in the Star Wars series.
(Yonhap)
