Lukewarm Reactions Including Escapes
2,113,187 Weekend Moviegoers at Theaters
The Disney·Pixar animated film 'Inside Out 2' maintained its box office top spot over the weekend, attracting around 900,000 viewers despite the surge of new Korean film releases.
According to the Korea Film Council's integrated ticketing system on the 8th, 'Inside Out 2' drew 906,392 viewers over the three-day weekend (May 5-7), securing first place at the box office. Its revenue share was 42.9%. Since its release on April 12, the film has accumulated a total audience of 6,917,919.
The total number of moviegoers over the weekend was 2,113,187, meaning that one out of every two or three people visiting theaters watched this film. Even in its fourth weekend since release, it continues to lead the box office and steadily attract audiences. At this pace, it is expected to easily surpass 7 million viewers. It also looks set to comfortably break the record of 7.24 million viewers held by Disney’s highest-grossing film, 'Elemental' (2023).
'Talju' (Director Lee Jong-pil), starring Lee Je-hoon and Koo Kyo-hwan, which borrows the theme of North Korean defection, ranked second with 529,757 viewers over the weekend. Its cumulative audience reached 737,711, falling short of the 1 million mark in its opening weekend. The comedy 'Handsome Guys' attracted 314,152 viewers, placing third. Released on April 26, it has drawn a total of 969,983 viewers. Fourth place went to the aviation disaster film 'Hijacking' (Director Kim Sung-han), starring Ha Jung-woo, which gathered 204,180 viewers. Since its release on the 21st, the film has been seen by 1,446,873 people in total. Fifth place was 'A Quiet Place: Day One' (70,739 viewers), sixth was 'Perfect Days' (12,142 viewers), and seventh was 'Haikyu!! The Movie: Battle of the Trash Heap' (10,204 viewers).
New Korean films failed to make an impact. All of these are 'warehouse films' made 2-3 years ago, and they have been criticized for lacking in entertainment value and quality. Despite vigorous promotional efforts and full commitment, the films’ shortcomings in craftsmanship have become evident, resulting in little notable response. Signs of a rebound also seem distant. As of 9:30 a.m. that day, real-time reservation rates showed 'Inside Out 2' (16.9%) maintaining first place, followed by 'Talju' (14.8%) and 'Escape: Project Silence,' which opens on the 12th of this month (13.0%).
'John of Interest,' released on April 5, added 7,283 viewers over the weekend to reach eighth place, surpassing a cumulative total of 176,337 viewers. This is the highest audience count among art films released this year. Considering that art films are generally regarded as successful if they attract over 30,000 viewers, this is a remarkable achievement.
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