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Korean films achieved their highest combined sales ever for the month of March, largely propelled by the box-office sensation "Exhuma," a government report showed Tuesday.

According to a monthly report on the Korean film industry by the Korean Film Commission (KOFIC), homegrown movies secured consolidated sales of 80.3 billion won (US$59.3 million) in March, which is 159 percent of the 50.5 billion-won average of the 2017-2019 pre-pandemic years.

The figure 80.3 billion won represents a 274.1 percent increase compared with the same month a year ago. 

The report also showed the movies attracted 8.29 million viewers in March, recovering 134 percent of the pre-pandemic normalcy and up 342.2 percent from a year ago.

The commission attributed the bullish sales to the big commercial success of the Korean supernatural thriller "Exhuma," which earned 70.7 billion won in revenue in March alone after opening Feb. 22.

Thanks to the film's success, local movie theaters also reported 11.7 million tickets sold and 116.6 billion won in combined sales in March.

It marks the second-highest sales for March of all time after March 2019, according to KOFIC.

Directed by Jang Jae-hyun, "Exhuma" remained atop the weekend box office in South Korea for the seventh consecutive week since its release, attracting 11.36 million moviegoers. It stars Choi Min-sik, Kim Go-eun, Yoo Hae-jin and Lee Do-hyun.

Written by Shim Sun-ah