KBO: Skyfall Ends Masquerade's 6-Week Reign (10/26-10/28, 2012)

Skyfall Ends Masquerade's 6-Week Reign

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Skyfall (us/uk)	10/26/11	45.60%	870,836	871,823	749
2	Masquerade	9/13/12	20.90%	412,777	10,944,763	503
3	Perfect Number	10/18/12	16.80%	325,268	1,233,658	436
4	Almost Che	10/25/11	6.00%	119,294	158,827	358
5	Brave (us)	9/27/12	1.90%	42,088	1,186,522	153
6	A Company Man	10/11/12	2.20%	40,652	1,091,606	261
7	Looper (us)	10/11/12	2.00%	36,434	548,015	181
8	Paranormal Activity 4 (us)	10/25/11	1.70%	34,918	43,274	173
9	Lawless (us)	10/25/11	0.60%	10,603	16,722	170
10	Dangerous Liaisons	10/11/12	0.30%	5,998	293,263	70

For the first time in six weeks, a non-Korean film has taken the top spot on the chart. It was another busier than usual frame which clocked in 1.9 million admissions versus last year's 1.5. Though a little lower than 2011's comparable weekend, the local market stood at a decent 47% in the face of an enormous Hollywood release.

The latest installment in the 007 franchise, Skyfall, which has been widely praised by critics, took in an impressive 870,836 admissions during its opening frame. While Bond films have not been overly popular at the Korean box office, this one stands a good chance of taking the crown, currently held by Quantum of Solace with 2.2 million.

Masquerade dropped to number two but after six weeks in the top spot it was about time. Nevertheless it had a small 25% drop for 412,777. It's inches away from 11 million and there's no reason it shouldn't top 12 within a fortnight.

The thriller Perfect Number dropped one spot and about 40% for a 325,268 take, hurting its chances to cross the two million mark. With Masquerade doing so well, nothing has been able to survive in the marketplace and this well-reviewed effort seems to be no exception.

New Korean comedy Almost Che had a very lackluster 119,284 debut bow and may quickly exit the marketplace as a result despite getting some positive notices.

Pixar's Brave held at number five with 42,088 and has so far attracted almost 1.2 million viewers.

Next week we'll see if Skyfall manages to stay up while CJ release another high profile release with A Werewolf Boy. Meanwhile Masquerade doesn't seem to going anywhere fast.

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 night (Korean Standard Time) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Korean Reviews. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

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