THE WITCH Casts a Spell on Korean Box Office

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THE WITCH Casts a Spell on Korean Box Office

Jul 03, 2018

Writer by Pierce Conran
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HERSTORY Bows in 4th Place as Local Fare Dominates

Business through the turnstiles edged up 20% this weekend as the box office market gears up for an onslaught of major titles through July and August. Local films were particularly popular over the weekend, clinching 71% of the 1.84 million admissions recorded.

Easily shoving aside the competition in its first week was the action-mystery The Witch : Part 1. The Subversion, the latest film from New World (2013) director PARK Hoon-jung. The film debuted with 735,000 viewers (USD 5.98 million) over the three-day frame and 959,000 entries (USD 7.4 million) in total over five days. The competition will be fierce going forward but audiences seem to be responding to this potential local franchise starter featuring new star JUNG Da-mi.

Down just a third for its third weekend was the action-comedy sequel The Accidental Detective 2: In Action, adding 419,000 sales (USD 3.38 million) for a 2.83 million entry (USD 21.76 million) haul to date, which is already 200,000 admissions over the first installment’s final tally.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was down 50% and a spot as it added 173,000 spectators (USD 1.34 million). With 5.59 million admissions (USD 44.08 million) to date, the film has also inched past its 2015 predecessor.

In fourth place was heist sequel Ocean’s 8 with another 101,000 spectators (USD 830,000) as business slowed 58% during its third spin on the charts. The star-driven title now has 1.28 million admissions (USD 10.11 million) banked.

Despite a strong reaction from critics, local comfort woman drama Herstory from director MIN Kyu-dong (All About My Wife, 2012) would only muster 100,000 entries (USD 777,000) in its first weekend, and 204,000 viewers (USD 1.36 million) since its Wednesday debut. Viewer reactions have been strong but it does not seem to be connecting with the public at large as the film’s daily totals appear to be slowing rather than building momentum.

Theaters look set to welcome droves of viewers this coming weekend as Marvel title Ant-Man and the Wasp comes hot on the heels of Avengers: Infinity War while local hitmaker LEE Joon-ik debuts his new local youth drama Sunset in My Hometown.

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