After three weekends in a row in the No. 1 spot, seems safe to say that OVERSPEED SCANDAL is a solid hit. In fact, it made more money last weekend than it did the opening weekend. Despite a bad trailer, people really like it and are giving it good word of mouth.

I am a little surprised that PONYO ON THE CLIFF BY THE SEA, the latest animated film by Hayao Miyazaki, did not open better. But with the Christmas holidays, I suppose the film’s distributors are hoping to get a kick from the kiddie crowd over the next couple of weeks.

After that, we have a block of Hollywood dreck, with JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH in third, TWILIGHT in fourth, YES MAN in fifth and AUSTRALIA in sixth.

Winner of the butt-kicking-of-the-week award goes to LOST AND FOUND, which despite opening on 480 screens, could only manage $740,000, or 7th place. Ouch.

I was happy to see David Cronenberg’s latest (abeit from 2007) film EASTERN PROMISES sneak into the top 10 (albeit is a tiny $20,000). A fun little film from one of my favorite directors. And, of course, some quality gore.

This Week Title…………………………………….. Release Date Screens Nationwide Weekend Revenue (bil. won) Total Revenue (bil. won)
1. Overspeed Scandal (Gwasok Scandal – Korean) 12.04 529 3.59 16.50
2. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea 12.17 520 2.12 2.55
3. Journey to the Center of the Earth 12.18 455 2.08 2.60
4. Twilight 12.11 421 1.36 6.40
5. Yes Man 12.18 323 1.26 1.66
6. Australia 12.11 452 1.01 4.83
7. Lost and Found (Dalkomhan Geojitmal – Korean) 12.18 480 0.97 1.35
8. Portrait of a Beauty (Miindo – Korean) 11.13 77 0.062 15.55
9. Tropic Thunder 12.11 90 0.022 0.46
10. Eastern Promises 12.10 16 0.020 0.094

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

FYI, MAMMA MIA is lurking in Korea still, coming in 11th this week, despite appearing on just seven screens nationwide. Not bad for a movie that opened in the beginning of September.