[News Figures] 'The Outlaws 3' Already 1 Million... Director Lee Sang-yong Takes the Megaphone

2017 Release 'Crime City 1' Assistant Director
Helms Sequel 'Crime City 2'
Achieves 10 Million Viewers and Directs Up to Part 3
740,000 Viewers on Opening Day... Box Office Hit

The movie 'Crime City 3' attracted about 740,000 viewers on its opening day alone, signaling a hit. The cumulative audience has surpassed 1.22 million.

According to the Integrated Computer Network for Cinema Admission on the 1st, 'Crime City 3' was watched by about 740,000 people on its release day, the 31st of last month. As of the morning of that day, 'Crime City 3' had a reservation rate of 85.7%, overwhelmingly higher than other films. The number of reserved viewers reached about 527,000.

The megaphone was held by director Lee Sang-yong. Born in 1980, he majored in film directing at Korea National University of Arts. Director Lee worked as an assistant director on films such as 'Love, Love Not' (2011), 'Hope' (2013), 'Chronicles of Evil' (2015), 'Single Rider' (2016), and 'Crime City 1' (2017), before making his directorial debut with 'Crime City 2' in 2022.

Director Lee Sang-yong, who directed 'The Outlaws 3' following 'The Outlaws 2' [Image source=Yonhap News]

Originally, director Lee Sang-yong did not plan to direct Crime City 2. In an interview with 'Cine21' in June last year, he said, "Originally, director Kang Yoon-sung was supposed to do it, but due to scheduling conflicts, he had to step down, and after discussions about who would fill the vacancy, the opportunity came to me." He added, "I think it was necessary to have someone who could maintain the tone established from the first film. Many of the staff had worked together since the first film."

Crime City 2, released on May 18 last year, recorded 12.69 million viewers. Director Lee won the Best Korean Film Audience Award at the 43rd Blue Dragon Film Awards in 2022 for this film. He also received the New Director Award at the 27th Chunsa International Film Festival, the 42nd Korean Film Critics Association Awards, the Audience Award in the Focus Asia section at the 55th Sitges International Film Festival, and the Audience Award (Gold) in the Asian Film section at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival. Regarding this, director Lee expressed gratitude in various media interviews, thanking the actors who passionately supported the 'rookie director' and the hardworking staff.

Director Lee took the megaphone for 'Crime City 3' because during the filming of the previous work, actor Ma Dong-seok practically requested a sequel. In another interview, director Lee said, "While filming (Crime City) 2, actor Ma Dong-seok talked about what the next installment's theme would be. I was grateful that he mentioned the third film while we were still shooting my debut work, and it hadn't even been released yet. I think it was not an easy choice."

'Crime City 3' tells the story of 'Ma Seok-do' (Ma Dong-seok), a detective with superhuman strength who moved from the Geumcheon Police Station's violent crimes unit to the Seoul Metropolitan Investigation Unit, as he takes down major drug criminals linked to the Japanese Yakuza.