Business Picks Up Ahead of Chuseok Holiday
One of the major Chuseok holiday releases this year,
The Throne drove up attendance over the weekend during its debut, pushing admissions back to 2.63 million. It also put Korean films back on top as local fare accounted for 58% of the marketplace.
A period film starring
SONG Kang-ho and directed by
LEE Joon-ik,
The Throne was always poised to do well and it didn’t disappoint during its debut, eking out an impressive 1.32 million viewers (USD 9.12 million) weekend and 1.81 million admissions (USD 12.24 million) since its Wednesday debut. While not as high as some of this summer’s major bows, the film is expected to maintain its course throughout the holidays and marks a second consecutive smash for distributor
Showbox Inc., following
CHOI Dong-hoon’s
Assassination.
Improving on its predecessor’s debut last year by 35%, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials put up a sturdy 840,040 admissions (USD 5.73 million) during its opening frame, and is already over one million spectators after five days. The first Maze Runner topped out at 2.81 million admissions (USD 20.57 million).
After losing a lot of screens,
Ant-Man dropped two spots and 75% in its third weekend, adding 171,346 spectators (USD 1.17 million) to a robust 2.7 million total (USD 19.11 million).
Veteran receded 60% for another 152,257 spectators (SD 1.06 million) in its seventh weekend. The blockbuster has now amassed 12.79 million admissions (USD 85.44 million), and is days away from overtaking
Miracle in Cell No.7 (2013) to become the fifth best performing Korean film of all time.
Rounding out the top five was the debut of the new Doraemon film, Doraemon: Nobita and the Space Heroes which opened with 45,834 viewers (USD 281,182). Meanwhile, KAWASE Naomi’s new film Sweet Red Bean Paste grew slightly in its second weekend to top the diversity chart (12th overall) and has now attracted 17,863 viewers (USD 119,963).