After a sluggish few weeks where the South Korean box office struggled to cross a total of $10 million, “Moana 2” and local hit “The Firefighters” improved matters somewhat. The total box office for the weekend was just above $16 million.
“Moana 2” led the box office for the second weekend in a row with $4 million, a 36.4% market share and 610,389 admissions, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. The film now has a cumulative gross of $14.1 million in the territory.
Close behind in second place was Dec. 4 release “The Firefighters” with $3.7 million, a 34.2% market share and 569,286 admissions. The five-day total for the film is $4.8 million.
Directed by Kwak Gyeong-Taek (“A Love”), the film revolves around a fire station in Seoul, where a rookie firefighter joins the Rescue Unit and is quickly sent out on his first mission alongside a seasoned veteran, celebrated for saving many lives. In the chaos of a raging fire, the veteran defies the chief’s orders to withdraw, determined to save an occupant. Though he succeeds in rescuing a young girl, the mission ends in tragedy with the loss of a colleague. Tension builds as the rookie confronts the veteran, blaming him for the loss. Amid their unresolved conflict, they are called to another fire.
Last weekend’s second placed film, “Wicked,” moved down a place to third, collecting $1.2 million, for a total of $10.3 million. In fourth place, sports drama “One Win,” another Dec. 4 release, headlined by Korean superstar Song Kang-ho, earned $629,250, for a total of $1.1 million.
Rounding off the top five was mystery-thriller “Hidden Face” from veteran Kim Dae-woo (“The Servant”) that collected $598,100 for a total of $5.9 million. Also releasing on Dec. 4 was virtual K-pop band PLAVE’s concert film “Hello, Asterum,” which scored $417,835 over five days in sixth place. Among the plethora of new releases was Korean horror “The Unrighteous,” which collected $63,414 in five days from Dec. 4 in seventh place.
English (US) ·