Korean Box Office Update (12/2-12/4, 2011)

Weekend of December 2-4:

	Title	Release Date	Weekend	Total
1	Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (us)	11/30/11	482,384	775,522
2	Spellbound	12/1/11	420,806	487,861
3	SIU	11/24/11	201,264	838,983
4	Punch	10/20/11	150,737	5,046,804
5	Arthur Christmas (us)	11/25/11	144,574	367,274
6	Real Steel (us)	10/12/11	58,945	3,521,389
7	Moneyball (us)	11/17/11	39,267	602,465
8	Immortals (us)	11/10/11	27,951	1,322,363
9	50/50 (us)	11/24/11	17,663	100,940
10	You're My Pet	11/10/11	4,234	541,356
-	Penny Pinchers	11/2/11	1,560	422,686
-	The Houseguest and My Mother (1961)	10/27/11	1,543	1,985
-	Perfect Partner	11/17/11	1,162	89,371
-	Dancing Cat	10/20/11	937	7,150
-	King of Pigs	11/17/11	774	17,526

Despite a huge new Hollywood release, Korean films remained very competitive this weekend, managing a 50% market share.  It was a big weekend with 1.56 million tickets sold which was better than last year's 1.25 when Petty Romance opened.  As Darcy Paquet noted in his biweekly box office evaluation for KOBIZ, Korean cinema will have to face off with a number of American tentpole releases in December but this is a very encouraging start to the holiday season.

The new Twilight opened in first place as was expected, the first non-Korean film to do so since October (Real Steel) and only the second since July (Harry Potter).  However its 482,384 opening was a little soft, certainly coming in below my expectations.  From here on out, this frontloaded pic should drop very fast.

Spellbound opened to a very healthy 420,806 this weekend giving Twilight a run for its money.  The multi-genre pic has been garnering some strong word of mouth and may play well throughout December if it can distinguish itself from the many new offerings that will become available.

Last week's one-time champ SIU fell two places, slowing about 40% to 201,264.  The buzz has not been fantastic surrounding the film and it will likely drop relatively quickly out of the top 10 though it will shoot well past the 1 or even 1.5 million admissions mark in the process.

Punch is finally starting to show some vulnerability as it dropped another two spots and lost nearly 50% of its business in the interim.  However its 150,737 take was enough to push it past the 5 million mark and get it to No. 3 on the yearly chart.  It remains to be seen whether it can cross the 6 million milestone, which may or may not be a bridge too far.

The next five spots were all held by Hollywood releases beginning with Arthur Christmas which held onto most of its opening as it added 144,574 to its total.  Real Steel finally saw a substantial drop but it has had a phenomenal run and the 58,945 tickets it sold brought it over 3.5 million admissions.  Brad Pitt's Moneyball dove 60% to 39,267 while Immortals fell 70% to 27,951 and 50/50 also shed 60% for 17,663.

At No. 10 was You're My Pet, which this week secured releases in China and Japan.  It made 4,234 this weekend for a 541,356 to date.

Outside of the Top 10:  Penny Pinchers added another 1,560 to its total; Shin Sang-ok's classic The Houseguest and My Mother (1961) sold 1,543 tickets in re-release; Perfect Partner fell hard to 1,162 and all but guaranteed it won't be crossing the 100,000 mark; Dancing Cat sold another 937 tickets; and King of Pigs added an additional 774 admissions.

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 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. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Box Office Update (11/25/11/27, 2011)

Weekend of November 25-27:

	Title	Release Date	Weekend	Total
1	SIU	11/24/11	346,875	419,042
2	Punch	10/20/11	288,874	4,745,131
3	Arthur Christmas (us)	11/25/11	180,315	187,475
4	Real Steel (us)	10/12/11	119,490	3,398,026
5	Moneyball (us)	11/17/11	117,661	501,195
6	Immortals (us)	11/10/11	103,727	1,241,104
7	The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (us)	11/30/11	88,116	90,650
8	50/50 (us)	11/24/11	43,390	53,378
9	You're My Pet	11/10/11	30,600	519,726
10	Penny Pinchers	11/10/11	24,552	407,914
-	Perfect Partner	11/17/11	8,943	82,073
-	Chilling Romance	12/1/11	5,867	6,147
-	Dancing Cat	11/17/11	2,046	8,057
-	Secrets, Objets	11/17/11	1,569	6,808

A new champion was crowned this weekend at the Korean box office and business was up over last weekend and last year.  A total of 1.43 million tickets were sold over the frame and Korean market share was an even 50% which represented gains over last years 1.22 million admissions and 44% share.  Despite only holding 4 of the top 10 spots and facing some tough competition from Hollywood, the Korean films fared impressively.

The new king of the box office is the new Korean film SIU which opened with a strong 346,875.  Besides the very present marketing I have not heard much about the film so it is hard to say where it might go from here.  In any case it will most certainly be a one-trick pony in the top spot as it will do battle with Twilight next weekend.

Punch way have gone down a notch after five No. 1 weekends in a row but it only slowed about 20%, leaving it with a 288,874 weekend and a 4,745,131 total, which was enough for it to surpass Silenced for no. 4 on the yearly chart.  It will cross Detective K and clinch no.3 in the coming day or so but any further climbing of the chart will require an additional 2.6 million tickets to catch up with Sunny.  This probably won't happen, especially given some strong competition ahead, but if this year's Korean box office stories have taught us anything it is that it is certainly possible.

The next 6 slots were all occupied by American fare, starting with the seasonal children's movie Arthur Christmas which had an okay start with 180,315.

At No. 4 Real Steel continued to show very impressive legs as it lost less than 15% of its business for a 119,490 weekend.  The Brad Pitt critical darling Moneyball was off a little under 40% for 117,611 and already has half a million admissions, a good result not doubt due to the star presence of Mr. Pitt and the locally popular baseball theme.  Immortals slowed under 50% for 103,727 as it leaped over the one million mark.  Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I banked 88,116 during its very strong previews.  Finally 50/50 opened to a low but predictable 43,390.

You're My Pet took the penultimate spot with 30,600, a sizable drop from last weekend but it has amassed a decent 519,726 to date.  Finally Penny Pinchers also took a fall to 24,552 for a reasonable 407,914 total.

Outside the top 10:  Perfect Partner crumpled after its lackluster debut and wound up with 8,943.  Chilling Romance took in 5,867 during its previews ahead of next week's opening.  Documentary Dancing Cat stayed nearly level adding 2,046 to its total.  Secrets, Objects sold 1,569 tickets over the weekend, about level with last weekend.

Next weekend:  A big test ahead for domestic films as the new Twilight will open wide after it's already successful previews.  I'm expecting a slightly better opening than the previous installments and then a steep drop-off so look for a opening in the region of 850,000, which will be more than enough for first place.


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 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. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Box Office Update (11/18-11/20, 2011)

Weekend of November 18-20:

	Title	Release Date	Weekend	Total
1	Punch	10/20/11	361,807	4,126,808
2	Immortals (us)	11/10/11	197,472	952,258
3	Moneyball (us)	11/17/11	186,122	211,097
4	Real Steel (us)	10/12/11	143,526	3,140,901
5	You're My Pet	11/10/11	87,572	411,506
6	Penny Pinchers	11/10/11	62,831	316,878
7	Tower Heist (us)	11/17/11	34,792	40,625
8	Perfect Partner	11/17/11	34,282	46,183
9	Horrible Bosses (us)	11/17/11	20,879	25,029
10	Wu Xia (China)	11/17/11	10,427	12,904
-	Couples	11/2/11	8,655	348,907
-	A Reason to Live	10/27/11	7,200	130,720
-	Merry Christmas, North!	11/17/11	4,098	4,956
-	Always	10/20/11	3,065	1,019,595
-	Dancing Cat	11/17/11	2,965	4,189

South Korea box office was a little slow this past weekend with total admissions amounting to 1.21 million, which nevertheless was marginally above last year's total for the comparable weekend.  More worrying is that the Korean market share dipped below the 50% mark for the first time in a little over a month, coming in at 45%, last year the figure was 63%.  While not alarming, this slight lull can mostly attributed to a lack of mainstream Korean films in the marketplace, only 4 of the 10 were Korean this week.

Punch stayed at no.1 once again for its fifth consecutive weekend after another small drop (<20%) saw it add 361,807 tickets to its 4,126,808 total.  The vaunted five million mark is all but certain at this point, it may cross it in as little as 10 days and could still go further still.  I don't think it will challenge War of the Arrows or Sunny a the top of the yearly chart but if it continues to play well through Christmas it may well come very close.

Immortals say its take halved to 197,472 this weekend after its strong start and is presently a shade off the 1 million mark, though actuals may well push it above.  Moneyball had a decent debut at no.3 with 186,122 most likely buoyed by star Brad Pitt's first visit to the peninsula.  Real Steel barely dropped at all and added another 143,526 to its coffers as it soared past the 3 million point.

You're My Pet, which had a curious injunction to ban it dismissed last week, made 87,572 this weekend which was a little over half of its opening.  The pic which was designed for and has been performing well with young woman has being doing well and may have benefited from the publicity of the injunction.

Penny Pinchers, which has had some good word of mouth, wound up with 62,831 and seems poised to cross half a million.  As some people have noted, including Darcy Paquet, the romantic comedy focusses on more impoverished leads than is usually the case which is a welcome change from the standard romcoms.

Tower Heist opened with 34,792 and I believe that this was previews so it may challenge for the top spot next weekend, which would be a shame since I despise Brett Ratner.

Perfect Partner made 34,282 this weekend in a limited amount of theaters.  Though this was already its second weekend I imagine it will go wider next week.

Horrible Bosses from the US and Wuxia from China rounded out the top 10 with underwhelming figures, 20,879 and 10,427 respectively.

Outside of the top 10: Couples took another big tumble; A Reason to Live stayed steady with last week and has surprised in the late stages of its run; Documentaries Merry Christmas, North! and Dancing Cat opened; and Always squeaked by the 1 million mark.


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 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. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

Korean Box Office Update (11/11-11/13, 2011)

Weekend of November 11-13:

	Title	Release Date	Weekend	Total
1	Punch	10/20/11	462,670	3,382,457
2	Immortals (us)	11/10/11	391,317	490,466
3	Real Steel (us)	10/12/11	175,253	2,850,840
4	You're My Pet	11/10/11	158,219	208,344
5	Penny Pinchers	11/10/11	111,793	158,337
6	In Time (us)	10/27/11	33,774	523,998
7	Couples	11/2/11	28,850	307,340
8	Always	10/20/11	23,065	987,972
9	The Help (us)	11/3/11	14,569	89,441
10	A Reason to Live	10/27/11	7,266	94,243
-	The Kick	11/3/11	6,111	45,660
-	Mr. Idol	11/3/11	3,742	69,878
-	King of Pigs	11/3/11	1,991	7,786
-	The Crucible	9/22/11	853	4,668,645
-	The Client	9/29/11	542	2,395,115

Punch led another strong weekend at the Korean box office with a total 1.44 million tickets sold, of which  55% were for Korean films.  This represented a slight uptick for tickets sold but a drop for Korean market share versus the same weekend last year.  Though, of late, many Korean films have been underperforming, the slack has been picked up by a handful of particularly successful films.  It's great to see so many Korean films stack up millions of admissions but also a little worrying that this is happening at the expense of many other films which are barely registering with moviegoers.

Despite some big competition from the just-released Immortals, Punch scored its fourth consecutive win with another big 462,670.  This is the first time it has dropped since it release, though a 35% decline versus last week's final figures is nothing to be worried about, in fact that percentage will likely shrink as the final count is tallied for this weekend's receipts.  The well-received picture now sits on 3,382,457 and will quickly cross 4 million with a very good chance of challenging for 5.  It remains to be seen whether the word of mouth as reached it zenith.  Like Sunny earlier this year, it is not inconceivable that it will increase again.

Immortals opened with 391,347, a respectable figure given how it has done in other territories.  Real Steel added another 175,253 (a 40% drop) and is now within striking distance of the 3 million mark.  If it crosses it, it will be only the fifth non-Korean film to do so this year, an impressive result.

You're My Pet managed a 158,219 opening weekend without the benefit of any previews last week.  For a mid-level film this is an okay start but if it drops fast next week, it won't be seen as a satisfactory result.  Similarly Penny Pinchers went wide this weekend with 111,793, another so-so opening that will be tested this coming weekend.

Despite some positive word of mouth, Couples completely fell apart, dropping a catastrophic 84%.  People who have seen it have expressed surprise at the film, expecting something mediocre and being delighted to be contradicted.  Is this poor result the fault of bad marketing?  Why is it that people assumed this was going to be a bad film?  Perhaps it never had a chance.

Always fell hard again, about 70%, but 23,065 weekend has brought it very close to the 1 million mark, which it will likely cross in the next week or 10 days.  Not a bad result but still a little underwhelming.

In Time and The Help also saw considerable drops this weekend, though the former, with over half a million admissions has had a decent performance.

After all but disappearing from marquees last weekend, A Reason to Live has bounced back, growing nearly 200%.  Though the resulting 7,266 weekend is not necessarily something to be jubilant about.  Still, the film is set to cross 100,000 admissions now so it will save some face.

The other of last week's openers, The Kick and Mr. Idol, fell 80% and 90% respectively.  Even with significant media coverage, these films have completely floundered at the box office.  What went wrong exactly? The Kick's failure does not bode well for further Thai-Korean co-productions or indeed for martial arts films in general while the dud that is Mr. Idol seems to show little overlap between the K-Movie and K-Pop worlds.


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 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. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.