Marvel’s THE ETERNALS Repeats at the Top of the Box Office 

After benefitting from a major boost last week with both a new Marvel tentpole in the marketplace and major ease in theater restrictions, the Korean box office slowed 30% this week but remains at a healthy level. 911,000 tickets were sold this weekend with just 16% of those for local titles, despite the launch of the first homegrown commercial film in months. 

Marvel’s The Eternals suffered a steep 56% drop following lukewarm responses from audiences, but its 501,000 viewer (USD 4.54 million) haul over the weekend was still more than enough to clinch first place once more. To date, the tentpole has drawn 2.47 million spectators (USD 21.93 million), the third-highest total of the year behind Escape from Mogadishu and fellow Marvel film Black Widow.

The gangster film Tomb of the River, the first local mainstream title since the Chuseok holidays, had a slow start with 126,000 seats (USD 1.14 million) filled over the weekend and 185,000 entries (USD 1.64 million) counted over its first five days in theaters. Featuring Jang Hyuk and Yu Ohseong, the film hasn’t clicked with viewers or critics and seems poised for a short life in theaters.

What has been getting strong reactions is the epic sci-fi Dune, which remained flat during its fourth weekend in theaters with 125,000 seats (USD 1.18 million) filled. However, hampered by a slow start while restrictions were still in effect, the film has amassed just 1.2 million tickets (USD 10.89 million) to date.

Debuting in fourth place was the animated sequel The Adams Family 2 with 61,000 sales (USD 474,000) counted over the three-day weekend and 74,000 tickets (USD 570,000) sold over its first five days.

Closing out the top five was the Japanese animation Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Sibling’s Bond, with 29,000 viewers (USD 252,000) counted over the weekend and 48,000 entries (USD 409,000) in total.

Vying for the top spot this weekend will be the homegrown romantic comedy Perhaps Love with Ryu Seungryong and Oh Nara, which is topping the reservation chart as of Monday morning.