South Korea’s box office continued its post-peak cool-down this weekend as “Mickey 17” held on to the top spot for a fourth consecutive frame, despite modest earnings.
Bong Joon-ho’s sci-fi epic, starring Robert Pattinson, brought in $928,843, accounting for 21.2% of the weekend market share, according to Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. From March 21 to 23, the top 10 titles combined for just over $4.9 million in total grosses.
“Mickey 17” added 140,161 admissions over the weekend, taking its cumulative total to 2.8 million tickets sold and $19.1 million in earnings since its February 28 release.
In second place, “Attack on Titan the Movie: The Last Attack” earned $834,101 from 121,843 admissions across 391 screens. The Japanese franchise finale now stands at $2.6 million with nearly 400,000 admissions since debuting on March 13.
New entry “Snow White” debuted in third place with $611,310 from 92,703 admissions. The film, shown on more than 1,000 screens, claimed 13.9% of the box office share in its opening frame.
“Streaming,” starring “Squid Game 2” actor Kang Ha-neul, opened in fourth with $511,618 and 76,575 admissions. The South Korean thriller, directed by Cho Jang-ho, features Kang as Woo Sang, Korea’s top crime channel streamer on the platform WAG, where only the highest-ranked content creator receives all donation earnings. After analyzing unsolved true crimes leads to massive popularity followed by a controversial downfall, Woo Sang attempts to reclaim his crown by tracking the notorious Hemline Serial Killer in real time — only to discover the killer has been watching his broadcast. It was released on 819 screens and earned 11.6% of the market.
Animated feature “Flow” came in fifth with $266,748. It drew 40,044 viewers across 693 screens. The film has now earned $387,311 since its midweek launch.
Japanese culinary comedy-drama “The Solitary Gourmet” placed sixth with $209,051 and 32,623 admissions. Based on the long-running TV series, the film, which premiered at Busan last year, follows a salaryman who receives a message from an old friend’s daughter, arrives in Paris and learns of the elderly man’s wish to taste a particular soup he had in his childhood before he dies.
In seventh, “Conclave” added $187,395, bringing its cumulative total to $1.2 million and 194,537 admissions.
South Korean horror “Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning” took eighth place with $126,339, lifting its total to $3.1 million, while Vietnamese horror “The Corpse” debuted at No. 9 with $139,200 and 16,860 admissions.
Rounding out the top 10, a rerelease of “Whiplash” brought in $76,744.
With no runaway newcomer and “Mickey 17” still leading on momentum, the Korean box office remains in a transitional lull, awaiting the next wave of spring blockbusters.
