Local horror-thriller “Salemokji: The Whisper of Water” maintained its top spot at the South Korean box office over the weekend of April 17-19.
According to data from KOBIS, a tracking service run by the Korean Film Council, the film earned $3.3 million from 472,121 admissions, maintaining a commanding 50% share of the weekend box office. The film, directed by Lee Sang-min and starring Kim Hye-yoon and Lee Jung-won, follows a roadview camera crew who encounter terrifying paranormal phenomena in a remote reservoir. Since its release, the title, distributed on Showbox, has reached a cumulative box office gross of $10.2 million with 1,461,849 admissions.
“Project Hail Mary” held steady at No. 2, earning $1.3 million over the weekend. The movie, starring Ryan Gosling, has had 2,298,106 admissions since its release on March 18, and has grossed $17.5 million.
In third place was “The King’s Warden,” which earned $712,905, a record-breaking total. The three-day attendance was 104,955, bringing the film’s total attendance to 16.5 million. Despite a significant slowdown in its 11th week, the historical drama continues to set a record as the second most-watched movie in Korean history, behind “The Admiral: Roaring Currents” (17.61 million views). Cumulative revenue reached $108.6 million.
The identity drama “My Name” earned $380,515 from 60,953 viewers and debuted in 4th place. The film, directed by veteran filmmaker Jeong Ji-young and starring Yeom Hye-ran and Shin Woo-bin, is set in 1998 and follows a boy named Yeong-ok, who struggles with his feminine name and complicated identity at a high-testosterone all-boys school, as his mother Jeong-soon (Yum) begins to confront long-suppressed memories of the 1948 Jeju April 3 Uprising. As Yong-Oak struggles with school violence, her mother’s trauma over historical genocide and state oppression resurfaces, forcing the two to find their place in a society still steeped in violent pasts. Since its April 15th release, the film has grossed $611,162. The film was screened at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.
The animated “Goat” debuted at No. 5, earning $114,641 for a total of $115,563.
Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece “Kiki’s Delivery Service” re-entered the rankings in 6th place after a special re-release, earning $140,117. It was followed by the action thriller “Shelter,” which took seventh place with $41,752. Since its debut on April 15th, it has earned $71,594. American action thriller “Normal” came in eighth place with $34,259.
Rounding out the top 10 were the re-released “The Truman Show” in ninth place with $48,875, and the Japanese sports anime “Haikyu!! Dumpster Battle” in tenth place with $47,969.
The overall market total for the weekend was $6.6 million, down from $8.01 million the previous week.
