It was a fairly busy week last week, thanks to the 8.15 holiday, which saw plenty of new films released on Tuesday. The top two films remained unchanged, D-WAR and MAY 18.
D-WAR keeps on wreaking havoc, having now topped 7.45 million admissions (about $50 million) (well, maybe a little less, considering how many tickets are lower-priced children seats). That makes Shim Hyung-rae’s dragon movie the seventh biggest film in Korean history, and it is certain to at least make it to fifth soon — FRIEND and WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL are going down. But I still doubt the “big four” (SILMIDO, TAEGUKGI, THE KING AND THE CLOWN and THE HOST) are in danger.
As of the end of Sunday, MAY 18 has officially passed 6 million admissions, or about $40 million. That makes it the 12th biggest Korean film ever, as is certain to pass MY BOSS, MY TEACHER and SHIRI this week. I think it should make it past the 7 million mark, depending on the new releases over the next couple of weeks.
It is going to feel strange, though, living in a world where SHIRI is not even in the top-10 biggest Korean films anymore. What a completely different movie country Korean has become since SHIRI blew everyone away back in 1999.
Two new Korean movies took the Nos. 3 and 4 spots, with respectable openings – UNDERGROUND RENDEZVOUS and CHANGING PARTNERS. I hope having the top four movies going to Korean movies (and four of the top six) will quell the worst of the fears of local filmmakers.
STARDUST did pretty good in Korea, at least in contrast to its lousy opening in the United States, taking in $2.4 million. I actually found it a little loud and heavy-handed for my tastes (fairy tales should be delicate, not bombastic, imho), but the other people in the cinema seemed to quite like it.
| This Week | Title…………………………………….. | Release Date | Screens Nationwide | Weekend Attendance | Total Attendance |
| 1. | D-War (Korean) | 8.01 | 491 | 580,846 | 6,902,034 |
| 2. | May 18 (Hwaryeohan Hyuga – Korean) | 7.26 | 443 | 416,747 | 5,609,005 |
| 3. | Underground Rendezvous (Mannam-ui Gwangjang – Korean) | 8.15 | 325 | 309,768 | 609,807 |
| 4. | Changing Partners (Jigeum Saranghaneun Saram-gwa Salgo Isseumnikka? – Korean) | 8.15 | 356 | 227,538 | 435,770 |
| 5. | Stardust | 8.15 | 221 | 180,388 | 315,243 |
| 6. | Return (Reteon – Korean) | 8.09 | 247 | 72,013 | 539,493 |
| 7. | Zodiac | 8.15 | 120 | 55,367 | 107,619 |
| 8. | Mr. Bean’s Holiday | 8.15 | 169 | 50,359 | 91,977 |
| 9. | Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer | 8.08 | 267 | 43,930 | 553,889 |
| 10. | Surf’s Up | 8.09 | 164 | 43,403 | 243,525 |
(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 94% of nationwide box office)
Nonetheless, that’s a big drop in one week (half last week’s attendance) for a movie that’s been touted to break all Korean records.