KBO: Werewolf Boy Opens Big, Masquerade All-time No. 5 (11/02-11/04, 2012)

Werewolf Boy Opens Big, Masquerade All-time No. 5

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Werewolf Boy	10/31/12	48.70%	1,030,285	1,294,479	707
2	Skyfall (us/uk)	10/26/12	22.80%	459,005	1,694,359	581
3	Masquerade	9/13/12	13.10%	272,736	11,418,849	404
4	Perfect Number	10/18/12	5.30%	108,248	1,462,108	316
5	Argo (us)	10/31/12	2.70%	56,647	79,989	238
6	Confession of Murder	11/8/12	2.60%	49,809	59,519	214
7	Brave (us)	9/27/12	1.00%	23,145	1,211,560	106
8	Almost Che	10/25/12	1.00%	21,287	215,887	195
9	The Peach Tree	10/31/12	0.70%	13,980	24,048	201
10	Savages (us)	10/31/12	0.40%	8,340	13,278	171

Business was once again brisk this past weekend as over 2 million tickets were sold, a big haul for this time of year and well above last year's 1.3 million. After a brief swing last week with the new Bond film opening, the market share was once again dominated by local fare as Korean films accounted for 72% of sales, a slight increase over last year.

Topping the chart this weekend was CJ's Werewolf Boy, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. It over-performed as it took in an enormous 1,030,285 giving the studio another hit after Masquerade. Though not loved by all, the film has been well-received and may do well in the coming weeks.

Slipping a little over 40%, Skyfall sold 459,005 tickets in its sophomore frame, a decent hold for a franchise that has not traditionally been too popular in Korea. The new 007 installment is knocking on the door of 2 million admissions and should have no problem crossing 2.5, which I believe would make it the successful entry in the series.

Masquerade slowed 33% in its 8th weekend, adding another 272,736 to it gargantuan total which is over 11.4 million. The film has now crossed Haeundae (2009) to become the 5th most successful Korean film of all time. It should also handily cross Taegugki (2004) in the coming week or so for number 4 but The King and the Clown's (2005) 12.3 million total at number 3 may be a bridge too far. In any case, it still has some steam left in the tank.

Perfect Number, the third CJ film in the top 4, took another hit as it grabbed 108,248 admissions to bring its total just shy of 1.5 million. At this rate it won't cross the 2 million mark and though not an outright failure its performance may be seen as a disappointment.

Ben Affleck's well-reviewed Argo had a tiny 65,647 opening at number 5 while Showbox's Confession of Murder pulled in 49,809 admissions in previews ahead of next week's opening.

With no major US release on the slate for next weekend, it'll be a battle for first place between the sophomore run of Werewolf Boy and the wide debut of thriller Confession of Murder, which has been receiving some positive buzz.

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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