Posters for South Korean action comedy film “The Roundup: No Way Out” are displayed on digital screens at a Seoul theater, in this file photo taken June 11, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 1 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean action comedy film “The Roundup: No Way Out” on Saturday became the first movie released in the country this year to surpass 10 million admissions.
The third installment of the crime action franchise starring Ma Dong-seok reached the milestone on the 32nd day since its release, according to its distributor ABO Entertainment.
“No Way Out” kept breaking records at the local box office by drawing over 740,000 viewers on the opening day and garnering over 6 million in the first week.
It topped a cumulative 8 million admissions on the 14th day and 9 million admissions on the 21st day.
It broke the milestone after its predecessor, “The Roundup,” surpassed 10 million admissions last year to become the first movie to achieve the feat since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Outlaws,” the first installment of the crime action series, attracted 6.87 million viewers in 2017.
In the country with a population of some 50 million, films that sell over 10 million tickets are considered a huge success.
It is Ma’s fifth film that has garnered over 10 million admissions following “Train to Busan” (2016), “Along with the Gods” (2017-2018), and “The Roundup” (2022), making him one of the most bankable actors in the Korean cinema industry.
In “The Roundup: No Way Out,” rough-and-tough cop Ma Seok-do (played by Ma) chases down a local drug ring as a new and dangerous drug is circulating around local clubs and confronts two villains.
Lee Joon-hyuk plays Joo Sung-cheol, a mysterious drug kingpin, while Japanese actor Aoki Munetaka is a Japanese gangster named Riki who smuggles new types of drugs into Seoul.
The 52-year-old Ma, who also participated in the project as a producer, said earlier he plans to create five more stories for the franchise and maybe more if the audience wants.
The fourth series has already completed shooting and is scheduled to hit local screens in May 2024, according to Ma.
(Yonhap)
