KBO: The Controversial 26 Years Shoots to the Top (11/30-12/02, 2012)

The Controversial 26 Years Shoots to the Top

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	26 Years	11/29/12	32.80%	663,704	803,186	609
2	Rise of the Guardians (us)	11/29/12	15.00%	277,161	361,738	472
3	Werewolf Boy	10/31/12	12.80%	265,304	6,519,784	415
4	Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (us)	11/15/12	10.70%	220,160	2,390,761	351
5	Confession of Murder	11/8/12	9.10%	176,703	2,471,307	315
6	Don't Cry Mommy	11/22/12	6.60%	136,890	883,290	339
7	Tone Deaf Clinic	11/29/12	5.90%	127,304	206,344	361
8	Masquerade	9/13/12	2.50%	54,186	12,167,317	128
9	National Security	11/22/12	1.50%	31,110	305,802	216
10	Trouble With the Curve (us)	11/29/12	0.50%	11,261	17,225	129

With seven local releases charting, Korean films had no trouble dominating the marketplace once again led by another chart-topping controversial release. 2 million admissions were recorded over the weekend, almost 30% up over last year while the local market share stook at 72% versus a flat 50% in 2011.

Leading the frame was the highly-controversial 26 Years based on the Kang Pool comic. The film, which depicts a fictional assassination attempt on Chun Doo-hwan 26 after the infamous Gwangju massacre scored a very healthy 663,704 admissions, no doubt spurred by its sensitive subject matter. However, its performance did aversely affect other controversial films in the chart (there have been a few lately) and it remains to be seen how it can perform from her on out.

Hollywood animation Rise of the Guardians ascended to number 2 following last week's previews with a solid 277,161. As we head into the Christmas season it is possible for this feature to score a decent run with some strong legs.

Meanwhile Werewolf Boy finally slipped as it eased 50% for 265,304. With 6.5 million admissions and counting (likely to hit 7 soon), this is hardly cause for concern.

Twilight had another better than expected hold as it amassed another 220,160 admissions in its third frame. The final installment in the global hit franchise should cross 2.5 million any day now.

Confession of Murder is still holding strong after it shrunk a little under 45% for 176,703. The film is also about to cross the 2.5 million mark but 3 looks to be just a stretch too far, regardless a great performance amid a very crowded marketplace

Don't Cry Mommy lost two thirds of its steam in its sophomore stint as it accrued another 136,890. It should cross the one million mark but will go no further. Either poor word of mouth or the entry of a more high profile controversial film in the marketplace is to blame for the fall.

Romcom Tone Deaf Clinic opened with a weak 127,304 while Masquerade slid a tiny 15% for 54,186 and National Security tanked almost 80% for 31,110.

Next week will see the release of the Korean romcom My P.S. Partner and Hollywood's Judge Dredd remake. I don't think either will have a significant impact, Love 911 is a much stronger contender later in the month. Perhaps 26 Years will stay up top for a second weekend but that will ultimately depend on word of mouth, which has been strong but emotional.

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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