Nameless Gangster Fights Back During Close Weekend
Title
Release Date
Market Share
Weekend
Total
Screens
1
Nameless Gangster
2/2/12
22.10%
353,394
3,987,379
495
2
Howling
2/16/12
19.30%
330,321
1,237,340
467
3
Man On a Ledge (us)
2/22/12
15.70%
260,386
334,604
409
4
Dancing Queen
1/18/12
8.90%
152,620
3,820,406
344
5
Underworld 4 (us)
2/22/12
7.60%
101,695
138,798
343
6
Legends of Valhalla (is)
2/9/12
5.40%
96,310
578,744
293
7
The Iron Lady (uk)
2/23/12
2.90%
47,564
56,386
154
8
Tarbosaurus 3D
1/26/12
3.30%
44,462
958,933
161
9
The Grey (us)
2/16/12
2.50%
41,876
279,309
214
10
Legend of a Rabbit (ch)
2/22/12
2.30%
41,448
58,679
224
It was another nail-biter this past weekend as the top two films battled for first place. Overall business was down somewhat from last weekend and last year but on the plus side the domestic share remained strong as local films sold two out of every three tickets over the frame.
Nameless Gangster came out on top in the end with 353,394, its third chart-topping performance in four weeks. Even more good news is that the film will cross the four million mark on Monday and stands a a good chance of reaching another benchmark. It will face some competition in the coming weeks, mostly from more Korean releases, but things will get harder in March as new Hollywood male-skewing blockbusters will enter the marketplace.
Howling was a close number two with 330,321 but this represented an unimpressive 40% drop which, for a second weekend, typically means that the picture hasn't caught on. The film is well past the one million mark and will likely cross two before too long but is unlikely to go any further. Given the film's positive notices it's hard to see why the film didn't follow the success of the very recent Korean hits but perhaps that's just it. Too many local films found a big audience in a short time frame, which no one expected, making it difficult for even a solid release such as this one to squeeze out similar numbers.
Hollywood thriller Man On a Ledge opened with a decent 260,386 but will likely tumble down a few flights come next weekend.
Dancing Queen slipped another spot for 152,620 but was only off 15%. At this rate it will become the second release of the year to cross the four million mark within a week, after Nameless Gangster beats it to the milestone by a few days. A great performance though soon it will have to make way for new local products readying for release.
Underworld 4 barely registered with a 101,695 opening weekend but this comes as no surprise given that the franchise has not previously met with much success on the peninsula.
Icelandic animation Legends of Valhalla: Thor continued its unlikely run as it added another 96,310 to its modestly successful total.
Meryl Streep's The Iron Lady opened with 47,564, not too bad considering such a film would have limited appeal in Korea.
Korean animation Tarbosaurus 3D dropped another spot and nearly 40% for 44,462 but it looks set to become only the second Korean animation, after last year's Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild, to cross the one million admissions mark domestically.
Liam Neeson vehicle The Grey crumbled in its sophomore weekend, falling four rungs and losing 70% of its business for a tepid 41,876 take. The action pic is unlikely to register in the top 10 for a third weekend.
Chinese animation Legend of a Rabbit was a no-go as it debuted in tenth place with 41,448. Too many animation films lately meant that this one never really stood a chance.
Unbowed just missed the top 10 with 35,842 as it crossed 3.4 million admissions.
Next week's major release is the Ha Jung-woo and Kong Hyo-jin romcom Love Fiction. Ha is already riding high with Nameless Gangster and will likely end up as the lead of next weekend's top two films. The question is how well will his latest fare? I'm betting it will do quite well, perhaps pulling in over 500,000 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 Sunday evening or 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.
Business stayed very strong this weekend as yet another big Korean release took the top spot though it was a close finish for first place. Two million tickets were sold over the frame and the overall market share for Korean films hit 70%, preserving a remarkable streak of recent domestic advantage.
Howling won the weekend as many expected it would but by a slimmer margin than expected. It's 530,291 opening was good but not remarkable. Though given the recent performances of films like Nameless Gangster and Unbowed, both of which strike similar demographics, perhaps this should come as no surprise. However, reviews have been strong so word of mouth may see Howling increase in its sophomore frame.
In its third weekend, Nameless Gangster came a close second with 498,920 admissions. Direct competition from Howling did lead to a 40% drop in business but it is still pulling in big numbers. Currently it is well over the three million admissions mark and will be knocking on the door of four million soon. It remains to be seen whether it can vie for five as well.
Dancing Queen also lost some steam in its fifth weekend as it wound up with 178,364. The Uhm Jeong-hwa and Hwang Jeong-min comedy is now over the 3.5 million mark and will attempt to cross four but this will not be an easy task. Regardless, the film has already been an enormous hit.
After its surprisingly good opening last weekend, Icelandic animated film Legends of Valhalla: Thor remained almost steady as it collected an additional 154,176 sales. The picture will easily cross half a million and could go further still. A good performance in any case but given the glut of children's films lately, it's interesting that this one came seemingly out of nowhere to outperform most of them.
Liam Neeson actioneer The Grey had a midlevel opening with 152,028. Hollywood is having a tough go as local competition targeting the same audiences have overwhelmed it.
Unbowed slipped three spots to number 6 and shed over 60% of its business in the process for a 96,598 weekend. The Ahn Sung-ki surprise hit has had a fantastic run and its total will soon cross the 3.5 million mark. From here on out it will begin to shed theaters quickly as exhibitors look to clear away space for new films.
Tarbosaurus 3D is inching closer to the one million mark (it would only be the second animation to cross it after last year's hit Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild) as it garnered some 71,608 viewers over the frame. It is still proving to be a very interesting time for Korean animation.
Two new US openers filled out slots 8 and 9, and both wer unable to entice audiences. Woman in Black started its run with a tepid 65,640 while Nic Cage superhero sequel Ghost Rider 3D was D.O.A. with 53,741.
Rounding out the chart was Papa, which added another 24,341 in its third weekend. The picture has crossed half a million but is a long way from being considered successful.
The only major release opening next weekend is Hollywood's Underworld 4 but the battle for first place will likely be waged between Howling and Nameless Gangster.
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 evening or 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.
This past weekend was another exceptionally strong frame for local films as combined they took nearly 80% of the market share, up from 50% a year ago. Total admissions came in at just over two million which was a 25% increase on last year's comparable weekend.
Once again leading the charge was Nameless Gangster which barely dropped from its gigantic opening to record a 828,585 weekend which already puts it within inches of the 2.5 million mark. While it will likely lose a significant amount of business next weekend it's already a big success and will surely cross a few more landmarks during its run.
Dancing Queen moved up to number 2 this weekend with 282,560 which represented a tiny 15% drop. It is now well over the three million mark and could cross four before finishing its impressive run. It's going quite steady for the moment and should still remain competitive throughout the rest of the month.
Unbowed dropped to number 3 with a 40% drop that left it with 256,866. It has now also crossed the three million admissions mark and could vie for the next milestone but this could prove to be a difficult obstacle to overcome. The film has had an extraordinary run but with so much else crowding the theaters interested does seem to have waned so it will probably begin to wind up its run shortly.
Foreign animation Legends of Valhalla: Thor opened with a decent 198,414 but is unlikely to stay this high on the chart for long. Considering how many children's films have opened recently this seems like a good start.
Tarbosaurus 3D lost about half its business this weekend as it garnered another 116,742 admissions but it has now crossed the one million mark. This seems like a decent total for this kind of a film but I have no idea how much it cost or what its break-even point may be. In any case it has been a difficult period for animation lately with so many crowding the marquee.
Papa dropped a spot to number 6 in its sophomore weekend as it halved its take to 107,868. Not an impressive run but with so many quality offerings on offer its easy to see why a film with a slight and slightly perplexing premise could get lost in the mix. One million admissions is probably not on the cards.
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace occupied the number 7 spot as it came out on rerelease with 59,278. At number 8 was Spielberg's new offering War Horse which sold 53,558 tickets. Meanwhile, the phenomenal Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy failed to attract many viewers as it attracted 44,042 viewers for number 9. Last Happy Feet 2 dropped like a stone after an abismal opening as it wound up with a paltry 35,368 admissions.
All eyes will be on the Ha Yu directed and Song Kang-ho starring Howling as it opens wide next weekend. Reviews have been excellent and anticipation is high but I wonder how the strong performance of the top three local films will affect its opening bow.
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 evening or 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.
Local films dominated the marketplace this weekend as they took the top 5 spots and an 88% market share, effectively wiping out Hollywood's mark on Korean theaters over the time frame. Total admissions stood at 2.36 million, a very healthy figure for this time of year. The chief element of success was a strong variety of enticing projects which have mostly benefited from positive reactions.
Leading the charge was the hotly anticipated Nameless Gangster which did not disappoint, both with its positive notices and supercharged 917,379 opening weekend. It's no small feat coming so close to the million mark at this time of year but even more encouraging in light of the strong competition from Lunar New Year's leading releases. It will probably remain strong next weekend, likely taking the crown again but will face stiff competition thereafter following the debut of Howling.
Unbowed slowed a little over 40% in its third weekend, winding up with 406,646 which put it past 2.5 millin admissions. Dancing Queen was next with 322,688, a 45% drop, it also crossed the 2.5 million mark. Dancing Queen is still in the lead but Unbowed is likely to pull ahead before too long. 3 million is a guarantee for both but it will be interesting to see if they go further, especially Unbowed.
Tarbosaurus 3D dropped about a third and succeeded in lording over the numerous other children's offerings with its 219,930 take. It looks set to cross the one million mark before long, another feather in Korean animation's cap.
Papa also opened this weekend but was overwhelmed by immense local competition, finding itself lost amongst event pictures. It pulled in 213,946 viewers in its opening bow and is not likely to improve on that in coming weeks. Seeing how the slate was shaping up at the beginning of the year, the distributors probably should have considered pushing its release back to a less crowded weekend.
The next three entries in the chart were Hollywood kids movies Happy Feet 2 (99,405), Puss in Boots (83,013), and Journey 2: Mysterious Island (36,000). Sarah Jessica Parker vehicle I Don't Know How She Does It was a non-starter with 30,324 while Mission Impossible 4 is now winding up its extraordinary run, amassing an additional 17,438. Its 7,538,551 total is enormous but Transformers 3's chart-topping figure is now soundly out of reach.
The local industry is on a bit of a roll and I am now very curious to see how things will shake up over the next few weekends. Howling pushed its release date back a week, a wise choice given Nameless Gangster's strong performance especially given the film's similar appeal. So quick on its heels it might also have overloaded the marketplace, it is now being released February 16. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The War Horse are opening next weekend but neither stands a chance of knocking Nameless Gangster from its perch. Korean doc Two Lines will also be bowing in limited release.
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 evening or 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.
Local business finally found itself back in the driver's seat this past weekend as its market share soared to 71%. That on top of the fact that total admissions were 2.56 million, 30% higher than last year's comparable weekend, and suddenly things are starting to look a lot rosier for Korean films in early 2012.
After a very strong start, Unbowed has taken over first place by jumping nearly 100% to 716,945. Though it is not the only Lunar New Year's release on the path to success, it looks like the first major hit of the year. It looks to continue the trend of strong small releases outperforming expectations that we saw so much of last year.
Meanwhile, Dancing Queen built on its successful opening by rising slightly to 597,666 and has now crossed the 2 million mark. Competition from Unbowed and next week's opener Nameless Gangster will be tough, but it's already a hit.
The highest opener this week was another local release, the animated dinosaur feature Tarbosaurus 3D which wound up with an decent 329,625. Though this film has managed to generate some buzz and has been presold to a number of markets, this probably wasn't the best time to release it. The market has been flooded with children's fare recently and after the holidays, it's hard to imagine that this will pick up steam in February.
Puss in Boots remained steady at number 4 with 260,898 and looks to cross the 2 million mark before the end of its run. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island dropped three places to number 5 but was able to hang on to nearly two thirds of its business as it finished the weekend with 216,196. Mission Impossible 4 fell one spot to number 6 with 92,673. It has now crossed War of the Arrows to become the second highest grossing film of 2011 and its total, which is inches from 7.5 million may come excruciatingly close to Transformers 3's chart topping tally, which stands at 7,790,434.
The other two Korean Lunar New Year's releases did not fare so well. Pacemaker has simply failed to impress as it has receded 50% after a lackluster opening, its most recent take was 60,634. The marketing team behind the film desperately tried to increase awareness in interest in the film last week with a number of promotional tactics but these seem to have fallen flat.
Meanwhile, The Neverending Story, which no one seems to be talking about, finished at number 9 with 30,886 after losing 65% of its business. It has barely managed to scrabble together a quarter million admissions to date and looks likely to finish with less than 500,000.
We Bought a Zoo stayed at number 8 as it added 47,485 to its paltry total while The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo rounded out the top 10 with 27,326.
Next week sees the release of the much anticipated Nameless Gangster starring Choi Min-sik and Ha Jung-woo but I am starting to wonder if it may fall short of expectations. It will be hard enough to unseat Unbowed, which has taken over the public consciousness, but I'm wondering wether the film itself will fail to live up to the hype. Papa will also be opening and will likely do so in the top 5 while the major US release will be Happy Feet 2 but after so much kids fare of late, I think this may be one too many.
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 evening or 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.
MKC's Upcoming Releases page has been getting a little big lately and rather than delete what has taken a long time to compile, I'm going to start a monthly breakaway. A few days before each month, I will preview it's coming Korean attractions in a dedicated article and two months later the month will be deleted from the main Upcoming Releases page. Each month will still be available in an archive on the page, which will assemble these breakaway posts.
So here is the first post for January 2012. It's a few months old but I will catch up until I April by the end of the week.
January 5
Love On-Air
January 12
Jesus Hospital
January 18/19
Dancing Queen
Pacemaker
The Neverending Story
Unbowed
January 26
Tarbosaurus
Love On-Air aka Wonderful Radio
Director: Kwon Chil-in
Cast: Lee Min-jeong, Lee Jeong-jin
Synopsis: Gina (Lee Min-jeong) was once a popular singer, she now hosts her own radio show. Suffering from low ratings, the show's producer is sacked and replaced by Jae-ik (Lee Jeong-jin). The irritable Jae-ik and the conceited Gina get on each other’s nerves but soon grow closer.
Release date: January 5
Love On-Air was the first platform Korean release of 2012 and had a decent opening but reviews have not been kind. The romcom seems to be a motley collection of kpop references and cameos with a good dose of melodrama stirred in for good measure. The film is Kwon Chil-in's fifth, following such works as Singles (2003) and Hellcats (2008).
Synopsis: Hyun-Soon (Hwang Jung-min) harbors a secret which only her mother, who is in a coma, and her pregnant daughter know about. When Hyun-Soon's siblings plan to pull the plug on the respirator that is keeping their mother alive at the hospital, she becomes very angry.
Release date: January 12
Jesus Hospital, the debut film from Shin A-ga and Lee Sang-cheol, who have previously worked as assistant directors for Lee Suk-hoon and Lee Myung-se respectively, has triumphed at recent Korean film festivals. It had its world premier at Busan in October, where it scooped up acting prizes for its leading women Hwang Jung-min and Han Song-hee as well as the Citizen Reviewer's Award. It was also screened in last December's Seoul Independent film festival where it scooped up the Grand Prize. The pair of first-time helmers look to be a solid addition to the already thriving independent Korean film scene.
Dancing Queen
Director: Lee Suk-hoon
Screenwriter: Lee Suk-hoon
Cast: Uhm Jeong-hwa, Hwang Jeong-min
Synopsis: A poor lawyer turned politician (Hwang Jeong-min) becomes a Seoul mayoral candidate while his wife (Uhn Jeong-hwa) makes an attempt at singing without him knowing at first.
Release date: January 19
Dancing Queen, led by its star power and song and dance premise prevailed as the no. 1 new movie during the crowded Lunar Day holiday weekend. Notices have been mixed but generally positive. Uhm Jeong-hwa goes back to what she knows best as she initially scaled to fame as a singer and Hwang Jeong-min, a great character actor with superb comic timing, plays her husband.
Synopsis: Dong-joo (Uhm Tae-woong) is an easygoing romantic while Song-kyun (Jeong Ryeo-won) organizes her life meticulously. They both develop terminal illnesses and soon they meet. Though they are polar opposites, they go out on a date.
Release date: January 18
A double dose of terminal illness leaves little to the imagination as to what kind of a film this will be like. Neverending Story is Jung Jong-joo's first feature, he was previously a co-writer and assistant director on Princess Aurora (2005). The presence of the very talented Jeong Ryeo-won (Castaway on the Moon, 2009; Pain, 2011) does show some promise however. Against tough competition during the Lunar Day holiday weekend, the film was unable to draw in significant crowds, landing at number 7.
Unbowed
Director: Chung Ji-young
Screenwriter: Chung Ji-young
Cast: Ahn Seong-ki, Park Won-sang, Na Young-hee, Kim Ji-ho
Synopsis: The true story of Kim Myung-ho (Ahn Seong-Gi), a professor who was denied tenure by his university after he questioned the validity of a math question in its entrance exam in 1995. After years of litigation against the university, Kim lost and shot a crossbow at the judge who handled his case.
Release date: January 18
Based on controversial true events, Unbowed is Chung Ji-young first film in 14 years. He was previously for making socially-conscious films such as White Badge (1992). Unbowed features a big performance from one fo the most respected actors in the industry Ahn Sung-kee has starred in films for over 50 years, going all the way back to the original The Housemaid (1960). The film received a lot of positive attention after its screening at last year's Busan Film Festival. The Wall Street Journal even ranked it in its top 10 Asian films of 2011. Unbowed opened strong and was a close second to Dancing Queen during the busy Lunar New Years weekend.
Synopsis: Former Olympic pacemaker Man-Ho (Kim Myung-min) is now retired. He then attempts to run 30km to complete a 42.195km marathon for the first time in his life.
Release date: January 19
The first film from veteran musical director Kim Dal-joong stars Kim Kyung-min who has come into his own as a leading man of late with starring in recents hits Detective K (2011) and Man of Vendetta (2010). The film released a lot of pre-release buzz but despite a few positive notices it opened at number 6 during the Lunar New Years weekend.
Tarbosaurus 3D
Director: Han Sang-ho
Writer: Lee Yong-gyu
Synopsis: 70 million years ago dinosaurs ruled the Korean Peninsula the same way they ruled the rest of the earth. At that time the part of the land now known as Jeonnam Yeosu was the forest habitat of numerous dinosaur species: Tarbosaurus. The youngest of a family of Tarbosaurs, Spotty is a curious and playful child. Along with his mother and siblings, he lives happily in the forest, waiting patiently to learn to hunt. When that day arrives, it marks the beginning of a long and painful journey into adulthood for Spotty.
Release date: January 26
This 3D dinosaur animation began to generate some buzz last May as CJ was able to presell it to a number of territories during the Cannes film market, including Russia, India, Germany, Thailand, Portugal, Turkey, the Middle East, Singapore, Benelux, Malaysia/Indonesia. In September Well Go USA purchased the American rights, adding to the film's prospects.
