The historical drama “King’s Watcher” made movie history over the weekend of March 20-22, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time in South Korea.
The film has grossed $95.3 million, according to data from KOBIS, a tracking service run by the Korean Film Council, surpassing previous grossing records held by 2019 comedy “Extreme Job” ($93.7 million) and 2014 war epic “Admiral: Roar” ($91.1 million).
“The King’s Warden” earned $5.3 million in its seventh weekend from 803,668 admissions, holding a commanding 52.2% share of the market. The movie, directed by Jang Han-joon and starring Yoo Hae-jin and Park Ji-hoon, had a cumulative total of 14,757,103 viewers. Currently, it ranks first in total revenue due to soaring average ticket prices, but remains third in terms of all-time attendance, behind “The Admiral: Roaring Currents” (17.61 million people) and “Extreme Job” (16.26 million people).
Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster “Project Hail Mary” debuted in second place with $3.3 million over the weekend. Since its release on March 18, the film adaptation has attracted 561,363 viewers, grossed a total of $4.3 million, and secured a 32.49% revenue share.
“Hoppers” came in third place over the weekend with $573,821. The animated film has grossed $4.2 million and attracted 646,431 admissions since its release.
The Japanese anime “Attack on Titan: The Last Attack” came in fourth place, earning $224,747 over the weekend, bringing its total box office revenue in South Korea to $6.8 million.
Local comedy “Method Acting” debuted at No. 5 with $163,018 over the weekend. The film, directed by Lee Ki-hyuk and starring Lee Dong-hwi, an actor who plays a king and struggles with his own identity, had 43,722 viewers and a total box office revenue of $276,294.
In sixth place was the horror mystery “Samakdo,” which earned $74,434. The film, directed by Choi Ki-joon and starring Cho Yoon-seo and Kwak Si-yang, follows a team of investigative reporters who uncover the absolute evil of the Japanese colonial era. Since its release on March 11th, it has grossed $510,203.
Japanese mystery thriller “Bakudan” ranked seventh with box office revenue of $54,645. The film, directed by Akira Nagai and starring Jiro Sato and Yuki Yamada, depicts the high-stakes interrogation of a man who claims to have had a hallucination of a bomb exploding.
The 1995 classic “The Shawshank Redemption” received a special re-release and re-emerged at No. 8, earning $41,383. This was followed by the Japanese drama “Campus Keeper,” which came in 9th place with $31,853. Rounding out the top 10 was the musical drama “Choir of God,” which added $21,480 for a total of $9.1 million.
The overall market total for the weekend was $15.5 million, up from $10.8 million the previous week.
