KBO: Man on the Edge Edges Out Competition (01/11-01/13, 2012)

Man on the Edge Edges Out Competition

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Man on the Edge	13/01/09	30.10%	796,748	1,029,672	599
2	The Tower	12/25/12	19.10%	512,677	4,455,084	482
3	Les Miserables (uk/us)	12/19/12	13.20%	351,246	4,825,497	410
4	Life of Pie (us)	13/01/01	12.80%	246,741	1,019,831	312
5	Cloud Atlas (us)	13/01/09	8.40%	213,580	299,644	382
6	The Reef 2: High Tide (us/kr)	13/01/10	4.60%	129,992	151,226	298
7	My Little Hero	13/01/09	3.10%	85,624	121,372	324
8	Love 911	12/19/12	3.20%	84,309	2,414,195	257
9	Wreck-it Ralph (us)	12/19/12	1.70%	48,509	893,331	220
10	Zambezi (us)	12/25/12	1.10%	31,011	454,896	141

Business was strong over the weekend as 2.65 million tickets were shifted (a 50% increase over last year) and the local market share stood at 56%, well over last year's tepid 20%. A new Korean release led the market frame becoming the first local production of 2013 to top the chart.

Man on the Edge, a gangster/shaman comedy from Showbox, had a very strong showing as it recorded 796,748 admissions in its first weekend. Following a holiday season full of event pictures, the marketplace was able to quench its thirst for some lighter fare with this high-concept comedy offering. With no major release threatening its chances next week, prospects look strong for the film going ahead.

Dropping to no.2 was the disaster blockbuster pic The Tower which brought in an additional 512,677 tickets to bring its total within inches of 4.5 million. 5 million is assured now but the film will most likely begin its gradual exit from theaters.

Les Miserables continues to overperform as it raked in other 351,246 to brings its total closer to the 5 million mark, a milestone it will cross in the coming days. The question now is: could it vie for 6 million?


Life of Pi is performing well, if not spectacularly, as it eased a light 22% for 246,741. The film has crossed the 1 million mark and could well well make it to 2 if it continues to show legs but it won't be an easy battle.

The eagerly-anticipated Cloud Atlas, which features Bae Doo-na in a lead role, opened well below expectations with only 213,580. The 3-hour running time and hard to pin down plot, which led to some eye-catching but confusing marketing, likely sealed the ambitious pic's fate.

Meanwhile, CJ Entertainment's heart-warming against-all-odds drama My Little Hero flopped with a weak 85,624 at no.7.

Tom Cruise is back next week with Jack Reacher which will certainly perform well but don't expect any fireworks.

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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