On 15th August, The Thieves surpassed the 10 million mark at the box office. The record was set just 22 days after its release. The film drew 338,199 on Independence Day Holiday in Korea, becoming the 6th Korean film to bring in more than 10 million in total.

 

The Thieves recorded the best opening score on the day of its release and within its first 4 weeks, it drew 10,096,957. This means that the film is the 6th film to go over the 10 million mark following Silmido of 2003 (11,081,000), Taegukgi from 2004 (11,756,735), The King and the Clown of 2005 (12,302,831), The Host (13,019,740) and Haeundae from 2009 (11,390,000). Director CHOI Dong-hoon said “the star of the 10 million milestone is the audience. Thank you to all those who came to see the film on behalf of the actors and the production team.”

Meanwhile, Masquerade broke the 10 million mark on 20th October, six weeks after release, drawing 221,229 on Sunday. The total number of admissions for the film stood at 10,041,566 38 days after it was released, making it the seventh Korean film in history to surpass the 10 million mark following The Thieves, The Host, The King and the Clown, Taegukgi, Haeundae and Silmido.

The investor/distributor of the film, CJ Entertainment said that possible reasons for its success may include the fact that it was the first historical fiction film on the Joseon King Gwanghae and the subject matter of the film dealing with the concept of ideal leadership. Another possible reason, according to CJ Entertainment, were the excellent performances by LEE Byung-hun and RYU Seung-ryong, as well as the film's mix of humor and catharsis.