Architecture 101 Weathers the Wrath of the Titans
| Title | Release Date | Market Share | Weekend | Total | Screens | |
| 1 | Architecture 101 | 3/22/12 | 29.30% | 570,915 | 1,609,046 | 579 |
| 2 | Wrath of the Titans (us) | 3/29/12 | 28.80% | 482,485 | 554,488 | 536 |
| 3 | Untouchable (fr) | 3/22/12 | 16.20% | 315,940 | 940,461 | 411 |
| 4 | Over My Dead Body | 3/29/12 | 16.20% | 312,872 | 368,065 | 433 |
| 5 | Helpless | 3/8/12 | 5.70% | 110,312 | 2,339,242 | 326 |
| 6 | This Means War (us) | 2/29/12 | 0.80% | 15,435 | 857,344 | 103 |
| 7 | John Carter (us) | 3/8/12 | 0.60% | 11,427 | 831,555 | 152 |
| 8 | Space Dogs 3D (ru) | 3/22/12 | 0.50% | 11,167 | 35,826 | 89 |
| 9 | Chronicle (us) | 3/15/12 | 0.30% | 6,761 | 381,410 | 109 |
| 10 | Nameless Gangster | 2/2/12 | 0.10% | 2,394 | 4,681,429 | 26 |
Repeating at number one was Architecture 101 which saw a slight increase to 570,915 admissions. Word of mouth seems strong for this romance pic and it could continue to play well though next weekend will be a difficult test for all the films in the marketplace. In any case it will have no trouble crossing the two million mark but looking at the similar trajectory it has had to Helpless, any further milestone is uncertain for the moment. However, while it does have to compete with Hollywood next weekend, the next major Korean release doesn't open until April 11 so this may work in its favor.
The French film Untouchable, which has been breaking all sorts of records in its native country, dropped one spot and slowed only 20% for a strong 315,940 sophomore frame. This may stick around for a little while and with similar declines it could come close to the two million mark which may be the first time a French film has done so at the Korean box office.
The major Korean opener this weekend was Over My Dead Body, the black comedy starring Ryoo Seung-beom and Lee Beom-su. It's 312,872 debut isn't bad but given how recent films have performed this picture may see an early grave. Strong word of mouth could save it but more than likely it will suffer a sharp decline along with most of the marketplace next week.
The rest of the marketplace was negligible as the bottom half of the top 10 took a combined 2.2% market share. At no. 6 This Means War dropped 70% for 15,435 and the one million milestone is now out of reach. John Carter, at no. 7, saw an 87% drop for a measly 11,427 weekend as it exits the chart. Space Dogs 3D jumped up one spot to 8 though it actually saw its business cut in half for a 11,167 frame. Chronicle took 6,761 after a 90% for no. 9. Rounding out the chart was Nameless Gangster which reappeared on the chart with 2,394.
The behemoth Hunger Games opens next week and though I am not sure exactly how it will perform in Korea it will certainly barge into first place. The only question is how big it will be, a one million opening is a distinct possibility and would dominate everything else. The next big Korean film will be The Scent which opens on the 11th but this will have some trouble ascending to first place.
Source: kobis.or.kr
The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday evening or Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site.
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