'Inside Out 2' Dominates Weekend Box Office... Korean Films Lag Behind

Surpassing 4 Million Viewers... 70.3% Revenue Share

Exterior view of a theater in Seoul
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Disney·Pixar animated film 'Inside Out 2' continued its box office success by surpassing 4 million viewers. Last weekend, 7 out of 10 moviegoers chose to watch this film.

According to the Korea Film Council's integrated box office data on the 24th, 'Inside Out 2' attracted 1,477,729 viewers over the three days of last weekend (21st-23rd), securing the number one spot at the box office. Its revenue share was 70.3%. The total number of moviegoers over the weekend was 2,106,259, of which about 1.47 million watched 'Inside Out 2'.

'Inside Out 2' tells the story of Riley, who has entered adolescence at age 13. Inside her mind's emotion control center reside five emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear. New unfamiliar emotions such as Anxiety, Embarrassment, Boredom, and Envy appear, disrupting the peaceful daily life and leading to crises and adventures.

Released on the 12th, the film has accumulated 4,114,472 viewers. It drew 2 million viewers in its first weekend and surpassed the 4 million mark on its 12th day, the second weekend. Among this year's releases, it ranks third in box office performance after 'Pamyoh' (1,191 viewers) and 'Crime City 4' (1,149 viewers). It is expected to comfortably surpass the original 'Inside Out' (2015), which had a total of 4.97 million viewers, this week.

Movie 'Inside Out 2' stills
[Photo by Walt Disney Company Korea]

The aviation disaster film 'Hijacking' starring Ha Jung-woo (directed by Kim Seong-han) entered the box office at number two with 482,391 viewers over the weekend. Third place went to 'Furiosa: Mad Max Saga' (21,447 viewers), fourth to 'Haikyu!! The Movie: Battle at the Garbage Dump' (19,406 viewers), and fifth to 'John of Interest' (15,417 viewers).

As of that morning, 'Inside Out 2' maintained first place with a real-time reservation rate of 32.7% (97,877 tickets). At this pace, 'Inside Out 2' is expected to surpass the domestic box office record for a Disney·Pixar film held by 'Elemental' (2023), which drew 7.24 million viewers.

Korean films are struggling. Several Korean films that have been released or are about to be released are losing ground to 'Inside Out 2'. Korean films released this month, such as 'Wonderland' (total 610,000 viewers), have fallen out of the spotlight. Although 'Hijacking', 'Handsome Guys', and 'Escape'?which opened on the 21st?are striving for box office success, their reservation momentum is weak, making it uncertain whether they can break the current streak.