South Korean Box Office: 'Chiikawa' Maintains Top Position, 'Heart of the Beast' Debuts Strongly
The South Korean cinematic landscape saw the continued reign of the Japanese animated feature, 'Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island,' which secured its position as the top-grossing film for the third consecutive weekend. This animated hit maintained a strong lead despite the entry of new major releases. The overall box office, however, experienced a minor decrease in total revenue compared to the previous week's figures.
During the weekend spanning October 30th to November 1st, 'Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island' led the South Korean box office charts. The animated fantasy, distributed by Toho and based on Nagano's popular manga, generated approximately $1.7 million from over 220,000 tickets sold across more than 1,100 screens, capturing a significant 32.1% of the market share for that period. Since its debut on September 30th, the film has amassed a remarkable cumulative total of $20.1 million, with over 2.5 million admissions.
Making its entry into the market, Sony Pictures and TriStar's suspenseful survival film, 'Heart of the Beast,' secured the second spot. Starring Brad Pitt, this thriller brought in around $1.2 million from over 160,000 admissions across 1,106 screens, accounting for 23% of the weekend's theatrical earnings. Its mid-week release on October 28th contributed to a total of $1.5 million in revenue and over 215,000 tickets sold. Following closely, By4M Studio and Barunson E&A's comedic drama, 'Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng,' premiered in third place. This film, the directorial debut of Lee Yong-jae, focuses on a high school teacher's unexpected involvement in a national examination committee. It earned $326,609 from nearly 45,000 admissions during the weekend, bringing its total earnings to over $500,000 from more than 71,000 viewers since its commercial release after a Busan International Film Festival premiere.
Meanwhile, Director Hur Jin-ho's political crime thriller, 'The Assassin(s),' continued its run in its sixth week, landing in fourth place. Despite controversies surrounding its historical accuracy, the film added $307,719 to its earnings from over 41,000 admissions, pushing its cumulative total to $25.5 million from over 3.4 million viewers since its September 23rd launch. The anime re-release of 'Attack on Titan: Crimson Arrows' also performed well, ranking fifth and accumulating $266,616 over the weekend, contributing to an updated cumulative total of $547,187. Other films that rounded out the top ten include CJ ENM's gambling drama 'Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub,' which crossed the two-million-ticket milestone, CJ Entertainment's psychological thriller 'Paradise Lost,' Warner Bros. and DC Studios' 'Clayface,' Universal's long-running hit 'The Odyssey,' and the newly released Japanese romantic drama 'You, Like a Star.'
The South Korean box office saw the anime hit 'Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island' maintain its dominant position for the third consecutive weekend. Brad Pitt's new thriller, 'Heart of the Beast,' achieved a strong second-place debut, indicating continued interest in diverse film genres among audiences. While several other films, including local productions and international releases, secured spots within the top ten, the overall market slightly decreased in its collective gross for the weekend.
