DETECTIVE K 3 Tops GOLDEN SLUMBER Debut
Despite putting forward a wealth of new titles aimed for the holidays, the local film industry was unable to hold on to its market advantage as a global behemoth easily held sway over the charts during the Lunar New Year. Overall, US titles accounted for 53% of sales while homegrown fare secured 43% of 3.82 million admission recorded over the weekend.
Marvel’s latest entry Black Panther, which was partly shot in Busan, roared into first place with 1.9 million entries (USD 15.87 million) recorded over the weekend and an impressive 3.1 million sales (USD 25.36 million) in the bank since its Wednesday launch. With little in the way of competition until later in the month, the action title should continue to dominate for at least another week.
Easing just 9% in its sophomore weekend was
Detective K: Secret of the Living Dead, which added 714,000 admissions (USD 6.24 million) to push its score to a solid 2.08 million viewers (USD 15.94 million). However, the franchise entry is unlikely to catch up with the first two titles in the series, both of which saw significant increases in their sophomore frames, which also fell during the Lunar New Year holiday.
The
GANG Dong-won vehicle
Golden Slumber from
CJ Entertainment, debuted in third with 628,000 spectators (USD 5.01 million) during its first weekend and 982,000 sales (USD 7.72 million) over its first five days. Based on viewer reactions to date, the thriller which is based on a Japanese novel of the same name, may have some difficulty adding significantly to its total going forward.
Lotte Entertainment’s Lunar New Year title, the period comedy-drama
Heung-boo: The Revolutionist, opened in a distant fourth place with just 212,000 entries (USD 1.67 million) over the frame and 322,000 admissions (USD 2.51 million) overall.
Rounding out the top five was the Japanese animation Detective Conan: Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure, which sold 85,000 tickets (USD 629,000) during the Friday-Sunday period, and a total 156,000 viewers (USD 1.12 million) since its Wednesday bow.
While Lunar New Year holdovers will likely command much of this week’s business, a few titles are wadding into theaters nonetheless, including Academy Awards hopeful The Shape of Water from director Guillermo Del Toro.