Korean Box Office Update (06/15-06/17, 2012)

Concubine Seduces the Box Office For Second Straight Week

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	The Emperor's Concubine	6/6/12	21.60%	379,354	1,720,595	536
2	Madascar 3 (us)	6/6/12	18.00%	311,454	1,000,913	557
3	All About My Wife	5/17/12	13.60%	238,402	3,820,013	370
4	Lockout (us)	6/14/12	11.10%	201,263	237,522	373
5	Runway Cop	5/30/12	7.90%	145,036	1,098,518	282
6	Men in Black 3 (us)	5/24/12	7.50%	135,452	3,231,814	332
7	Prometheus (us)	6/6/12	8.80%	129,265	801,391	322
8	Sadako 3D (jp)	6/14/12	4.90%	71,346	87,953	261
9	Don't Click	5/30/12	3.00%	57,234	837,617	254
10	The Thing (us)	6/14/12	1.50%	27,886	33,462	173

In the light of the absence of any new big marquees titles in the marketplace, this weekend was pretty much a rehash of last week with the top three reprising their spots. Despite the lack of new titles, business remained relatively brisk, recording a total of 1.75 million admissions, about a third more than last year while the market was only a fraction below the majority threshold, though higher than last year's 40%.

Leading the pack was Korean period drama The Emperor's Concubine which dipped only 27% from its strong opening for 379,354. It'll go sailing over the 2 million mark within a few days and should already be considered a big success, however its sophomore performance was likely bolstered from the quiet marketplace. Word of mouth still hasn't been very strong for this and it could easily take quite a tumble in week 3.

Madagascar 3 pulled in another pair of strong weekend days for a solid 311,454, which nudges its total just over the one million mark. It will likely pass another as it has been heavily marketed here and it will not face any competition for a few weeks.

All About My Wife dipped a very soft 20% for a stellar 238,402 to bring it within swatting distance of 4 million, which it should cross before next week.  I feel its run is about to wind down though as audiences will seek out something fresh.

Guy Pearce actioner Lockout had a so-so opening with 201,263, audiences seem to be bypassing this one as they seek fresh cinematic thrills.

Meanwhile Runway Cop also had a slight dip as it earned another 145,036. It's total now stands just past the one million mark.

Meanwhile, Men in Black 3 got sliced in half as it added another 135,452 to its haul. Though an impressive run it will likely start to fall in the near term.

Prometheus took a big hit after its minor opening with 129,265 in sales. Crossing the one million mark is possible but certainly not a guarantee, in any case a disappointing performance.

3D J-horror Sadako 3D had a poor opening with only 71,346 admissions. K-horror Don't Click shed two thirds and earned 57,234, as it prepares to exit theaters while US horror remake The Thing had a devastating opening in last place.

Lot of big Korean releases next weekend, including Miss Conspirator, The King of XXX-Kissing and I Am, should be interesting to see who comes in first place and it may be a tight battle, until then!

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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