Korean Box Office Update (09/30-10/02, 2011)

Weekend of September 30 - October 2, 2011:

	Title	Release Date	Weekend	Total
1	The Crucible	9/22/11	911,179	2,501,300
2	The Client	9/29/11	480,049	640,454
3	Countdown	9/29/11	145,775	219,271
4	Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon	8/10/11	91,886	7,245,651
5	Abduction (us)	9/29/11	64,972	82,045
6	From up on Poppy Hill (jp)	9/29/11	61,370	65,924
7	Mr. Popper's Penguins (us)	9/7/11	30,086	916,939
8	Contagion (us)	9/22/11	21,501	207,766
9	The Killer Elite (us)	9/22/11	12,828	147,049
10	Marrying the Mafia IV	9/7/11	11,227	2,345,076
-	Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild	7/27/11	4,435	2,183,191
-	Pained	7/9/11	3,658	696,117
-	Champ	7/9/11	1,215	530,801
-	The Day He Arrives	8/9/11	1,013	37,169

Business picked up a little this week over the last two with nearly 1.9 million admissions counted over the weekend. Two big Korean film opened wide and while only five films in the top 10, four of those led the marketplace and took a hefty 87.2% of business. Of the other five films, three were American holdovers (Mr. Popper's Penguins, Contagion and The Killer Elite), and the two midlevel openers were Abduction from Hollywood and the new Studio Ghibli film From Up on Poppy Hill from Japan.

Once again The Crucible (aka Silenced) dominated the marketplace with a staggering 911,179 tickets sold, this represents a huge 33% increase over last week's already impressive opening. With 2.5 million already tucked away (which puts it at No.7 on the yearly domestic chart), The Crucible should well in the coming weeks and may finds itself very high up the chart before long.

Last week yielded some solid preview figures for The Client, and it looked like a good bet to come in first this week. It managed 480,049, a strong number for this kind of film and this time of year but it barely managed to earn half of The Crucible's second weekend, which clearly ate into its potential earnings. However the buzz has been building on this film due in large part to an agressive marketing campaign so it may yet conjure up some big numbers.

The other wide Korean release this week was Countdown, the new thriller starring Jeon Do-yeon and Jang Jae-yeong. Reviews have been good but the film only managed a disappointing 145,755 admissions in its first frame despite the strong pedigree attached. This kind of figure seems to reinforce the notion that star wattage is dwindling at the Korean box office in favor of strong ensemble cast. Last month's Hindsight seemed to suffer a similar fate.

Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon dropped 38% this week for a 91,886 weekend. Its total, which stands at 7,245,651 is within 130,000 of Sunny's chart-topping performance. It should pass it within the next two weeks unless it crashes out very quickly but will not go any further.

Marrying the Mafia IV all but disappeared from the marketplace with a minuscule 11,227 as it finished out its run. Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild, Pained and Champ are still hanging around with very small takes while Hong Sang-soo's The Day He Arrives added another 1,013 to brings its total to 37,169.

The Crucible is all but guaranteed to stay up top next week as there will be no significant openings. The only wide Korean release will be Kim Sang-jin's new film Fighting Spirit, a baseball-themed comedy-drama.


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 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. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Weekly Review Round-up (09/24-09/30, 2011)

An enormous amount of reviews this week (53!) due in part to Austin's Fantasia Fest and the release of Poetry in Toronto. I'm sure I've missed a couple though but if you can point me towards any more I will gladly include them!

NEW KOREAN RELEASES

Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon

(koreanfilm.org, September 2011)

Blind

(Ain't It Cool News, September 29, 2011)

(andrewmccants.com, September 24, 2011)

(austin360.com, September 23, 2011)

(austinist.com, September 26, 2011)

(cinemablend.com, September 23, 2011)

(fangoria.com, September 22, 2011)

(feelist.blogspot.com, September 26, 2011)

(Film School Rejects, September 25, 2011)

(The 72 Pins, September 23, 2011)

(Twitch, September 22, 2011)

Countdown

(Seongyong's Private Place, September 25, 2011)

(The Korea Times, September 29, 2011)

RECENT RELEASES

GLove

(hancinema.net, September 24, 2011)

Hanji

(Twitch, September 24, 2011)

Haunters

(fantasticfest.festivalgenius.com, September 2011)

(feelist.blogspot.com, September 26, 2011)

(indieWIRE, September 26, 2011)

(insidepulse.com, September 25, 2011)

(The Austin Chronicle, September 29, 2011)

(Twitch, September 25, 2011)

Invasion of Alien Bikini

(fantasticfest.festivalgenius.com, September 2011)

(feelist.blogspot.com, September 27, 2011)

(klownsasesinos.com, September 26, 2011) - Spanish

(slashfilm.com, September 24, 2011)

(The 72 Pins, September 23, 2011)

(Twitch, September 23, 2011)

Moby Dick

(Modern Korean Cinema, September 30, 2011)

Poetry

(cynicritics.com, September 15, 2011)

(exclaim.ca, September 29, 2011)

(kdvr.com, September 23, 2011)

(nowtoronto.com, September 29, 2011)

(The Globe and Mail, September 30, 2011)

(The Grid, September 28, 2011)

(Toronto.com, September 30, 2011)

(Toronto Sun, September 30, 2011)

The Servant

(Init_Scenes, September 29, 2011)

The Yellow Sea

(Ain't It Cool News, September 24, 2011)

(fantasticfest.festivalgenius.com, September 2011)

(Film School Rejects, September 26, 2011)

(Film Threat, September 24, 2011)

(geekscape.net, September 28, 2011)

(hancinema.net, September 24, 2011)

(ifc.com, September 24, 2011)

(indieWIRE, September 26, 2011)

(klownsasesinos.com, September 26, 2011) - Spanish

(Sound on Sight, September 26, 2011)

(The 72 Pins, September 24, 2011)

(The Film Stage, September 25, 2011)

(Twitch, September 23, 2011)

PAST FILMS

Summer Time, 2001

(Hangul Celluloid, September 16, 2011)

The Sword With No Name, 2009

(buzzfocus.com, September 28, 2011)

Woman on the Beach, 2005

(The New Yorker, September 28, 2011)

The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office Update. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Box Office Update (09/23-09/25, 2011)

Weekend of September 23-25, 2011:

	Title	Release Date	Weekend	Total
1	The Crucible	9/22/11	685,784	914,369
2	Arrow, the Ultimate Weapon	8/10/11	149,183	7,042,686
3	Contagion (us)	9/22/11	111,932	133,147
4	Mr. Popper's Penguins (us)	9/7/11	85,808	848,949
5	Marrying the Mafia IV	9/7/11	74,487	2,283,806
6	The Killer Elite (us)	9/22/11	70,238	90,591
7	The Client	9/29/11	61,074	61,074
8	Countdown	9/29/11	32,100	39,279
9	Pained	9/7/11	24,591	673,342
10	Champ	9/7/11	17,824	514,194
-	Leafie, A Hen Into The Wild	7/27/11	10,704	2,171,074
-	Hindsight	8/31/11	5,452	761,276
-	Blind	8/10/11	4,798	2,355,927

Business was once again a little slow with 1.4 million tickets sold overall. That's slightly below last year's comparable weekend which had 1.8 million admissions. 7 of the top films were Korean and this is now the 9th weekend in a row where the top place has been occupied by a local film.

After strong previews last week, The Crucible (aka Silenced) has conquered the local box office with a big 685,784 tally on its opening weekend, that accounted for a 48.9% share of the marketplace. With nearly a million admissions tucked away already it will be interesting to see how far this goes although it will come up against some stiff competition next weekend.

Arrow, the Ultimate Weapon took its biggest slide yet as it retreated nearly 50% in its 7th weekend, although its 149,183 admissions were enough to push it over 7 million. While it is unlikely to crack 8 million, Arrow will now challenge for the local number 1 spot currently occupied by Sunny and its 7,369,213 take.

Marrying the Mafia IV took another big dive this weekend, this time over 70%. With 74,487 tickets sold this weekend it remains to be seen whether it has enough to go over its predecessors 2.5 million total.

Pained sold 24,591 tickets after falling nearly 80% and now has 673,342 admissions as it winds up its run. Champ suffered a similar fall and 17,824 for a 514,194 total. Outside of the top 10 Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild, Hindsight, and Blind all posted small numbers.

The Client and Countdown, two hotly anticipated Autumn releases, had their previews this weekend.  They scored 61,074 and 32,100 admissions respectively and all eyes will be on them when they open in earnest next weekend. Also in the mix for the top place will be The Crucible's sophomore frame.


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 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. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.