Homegrown sci-fi survival thriller “Hope” dominated the Korean box office over the weekend of July 17-19.
According to data from KOBIS, a tracking service run by the Korea Film Council, the much-anticipated blockbuster earned $11.3 million from 1,504,019 viewers over three days, taking an overwhelming 66.62% share of the total market revenue.
Directed by Na Hong-jin, this big-budget production features a star-studded ensemble of international and local stars, including Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-young, Michael Fassbender, and Alicia Vikander. The story centers on the residents of a remote and isolated port town who discover a mysterious alien race on the outskirts of town, and their quiet community quickly turns into a desperate battleground for humanity’s survival. The film capitalized on massive pre-release anticipation and massive previews to collect a total of $16 million in box office revenue from 2,129,723 total admissions.
“Minions & Monsters” debuted in second place, earning $2.1 million from 308,575 viewers. Since its release, the film has raised a total of $2.6 million locally from 374,784 ticket buyers.
“Moana” rose to third place during its second run, collecting $1.2 million from 173,555 admissions. The film had a total box office revenue of $5.6 million in South Korea with a total audience of 772,104 viewers.
“Toy Story 5” came in fourth place, earning an additional $834,989 from 114,720 ticket buyers. The animation has a total local footprint of $19.1 million with 2,750,183 total admissions since its mid-June premiere.
The psychological horror remake “The Eyes” finished in fifth place with $552,784 from 75,565 attendees. The thriller, directed by Yeom Ji-ho and starring Shin Min-ah and Kim Nam-hee, maintained its longevity until its fourth installment, with a total box office revenue of $9.9 million from a total of 1,431,223 viewers.
The faith-based animated musical “David” came in at No. 6, earning $436,845 over the box, pushing its total over the $1 million mark.
Long-running genre behemoth “Colony” took seventh place with $92,196 plus $92,196 from 11,534 admissions. Director Yeon Sang-ho’s viral hive mind thriller starring Jeon Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan and Ji Chang-wook has grossed $42.2 million from 5,941,130 tickets since its May 21 release.
Japanese animated feature film “Doraemon the Movie: New Nobita and the Undersea Castle” followed in eighth place, earning $42,042 over the three-day weekend, bringing the total box office revenue to $424,137.
“Marty Supreme,” a table tennis comedy-drama directed by Josh Safdie and starring Timothée Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow, came in ninth with a weekend gross of $48,551 and peaked at $853,810.
Rounding out the top 10 was the Japanese anime series Bleach: Thousand Years of Blood War, which added $30,669 from 3,492 attendees for a total of $126,351.
The overall market total for the weekend was $17.1 million, up significantly from last week’s $8.2 million.
