3D Animation by Mopack Studio
Hollywood Stars Lend Their Voices
The animation "The Life of Jesus," created by a Korean production company and filmmakers, ranked second at the box office immediately after its release in North America.
According to the U.S. box office tracking site Box Office Mojo on the 12th (local time), "The Life of Jesus" (U.S. title "The King of Kings"), which opened the previous day in 3,200 theaters across North America, earned $7,010,275 (approximately 10 billion KRW) in ticket sales in just one day, securing the second spot at the box office. Hollywood media outlet Variety predicted that the film's first-week revenue could reach about $18 million (approximately 25.7 billion KRW). The outlet also anticipated that the box office success of "The Life of Jesus" could intensify ahead of Easter on the 20th.
"The Life of Jesus" is a theatrical 3D animation produced by Korea's Mopack Studio. Jang Seong-ho, CEO of Mopack, directed, wrote the screenplay, and produced the film, with cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung co-producing. The film is an adaptation of "The Life of Our Lord," written by British author Charles Dickens for his children. It narrates the journey from the birth of Jesus Christ to his crucifixion and resurrection, tailored to the perspective of children and family audiences. The story unfolds from the viewpoint of John, the young son of Jesus' disciple Peter, who follows his father and witnesses Jesus' teachings and miracles.
One of the reasons for its popularity is the voice acting by numerous Hollywood stars. Oscar Isaac voices Jesus, Pierce Brosnan plays Pontius Pilate, and Mark Hamill voices King Herod. Additionally, voices of Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman, and others can be heard. The film's distributor, Angel Studios, is actively marketing the film, including a "Kids Go Free" event where one child can watch the movie free with the purchase of one adult ticket.
Jang Seong-ho, CEO of Mopack Studio and the creator of this film, is known as a pioneer in Korea's computer graphics (CG) and visual effects (VFX) fields. Mopack Studio's major works include the films "Haeundae," "The Admiral: Roaring Currents," the dramas "The Legend," "My Love from the Star," and the American drama "Spartacus."
This animation also received the highest grade of "A+" in on-site audience surveys conducted by market research firm CinemaScore. On the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes, it achieved a 95% audience rating.
Variety described it as "a surprise" that an animation made in Korea surpassed new releases from major Hollywood studios such as "Amateur" and "Drop" to rank second at the box office this weekend. The film that took first place at the North American box office the previous day was "The Minecraft Movie," based on the video game of the same name.
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