Korean Box Office Report - January 13/15

Ahhh... the smell of success. What does it taste like? Go ask Lee Joon-Ik, because after years of struggling, he's finally found the film which made it all worth it. Lee, whose company Cineworld lost Billions of Won when the blockbuster bubble burst in 2002 -- but mostly due to the failure of the comedy 공포택시 (Ghost Taxi) -- was still 3-4 Billion in the red when he started producing 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown). A longtime veteran in the producing field, Lee's return to the big screen in 2003, the underrated Fusion Historical Drama 황산벌 (Once Upon a Time in The Battlefield) took some of the burden off the company, but this project was one of those do or die situations. With no box office draws, but all good actors (Jung Jin-Young, Gam Woo-Sung, Kang Sung-Yeon, Yoo Hae-Jin, Jang Hang-Seon and new star Lee Joon-Gi), Lee used his usual pragmatic 'no-waste' modus operandi, and was able to produce the film for a fraction of the usual cost, at around 4.5 Billion Won.

But even when the film released on December 29, and its stunning opening day brought back the memories of his past film, he certainly didn't expect to repeat the success of last year's 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol). Yes, because other than having been praised left and right by critics and public, the success story of this film is probably even more beautiful than the film itself. There's a craze about 'The King and The Clown' in Korea right now, everyone wants to see this film. Pre-order sales sky-rocketed, and are still around the 50% after its third week on release, something almost unheard of. Lee Joon-Gi has become an overnight star, so much that his latest TV Drama 마이걸 (My Girl) is benefiting from his presence as well.

The film sold 304,000 tickets in Seoul last weekend, over a Million nationwide for the third straight week. Again, the fact the film is still at the top is not really the important thing, but seeing so many people spread the word about it, talk of how good the film is will only end up creating another 'domino effect', just like what happened for 'Welcome To Dongmakgol'. As of the 16th, the film has sold 4.75 Million tickets, and distributors expect to pass the 5 Million mark by this afternoon. That number is very important, as 'Dongmakgol' had 'only' sold 4.5 Million tickets by its third week of release, and was also screened ahead of the nationwide release through the usual advanced paid screenings. This means that, unless 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Student) and 홀리데이 (Holiday) stop its momentum when they release on January 19, 'The King and The Clown' could seriously mount a challenge to 'Dongmakgol', and who knows after that.

야수 (Running Wild) also had an excellent debut, which was sort of buried by the 'Clown wave', but should allow the film to have a good box office run. With the same screens as 'The King and The Clown' (389 Nationwide), the action noir starring Kwon Sang-Woo and Yoo Ji-Tae took advantage of Showbox's usual aggressive marketing, and sold 154,000 tickets in Seoul over the weekend, for a nationwide total of 495,000. The total so far is 612,000, and given the top box office draws and the support of Showbox, it's very likely the film will do well, perhaps in the 3 Million range. That should be more or less enough to cover its 10 Billion Won budget. After a good first weekend, the action comedy 싸움의 기술 (The Art of Fighting) continued to do well, despite suffering the competition of the top 2. The film, starring Baek Yoon-Shik and Jae Hee, is still screening at over 250 screens nationwide, and sold 80,000 tickets in Seoul over the weekend, for a total of 280,000 nationwide. It passed the Million mark already, but given the number of potential hits releasing before the end of the month, it's very unlikely it'll sell more than 2 Million tickets. Still, considering the low(er than usual) budget, a good result.

The Chronicles of Narnia did OK, passing the 2 Million, but as expected it seems a notch below the usual big blockbuster series, like Harry Potter and LOTR. Peter Jackson's King Kong added a few tickets to its 4 Million+ total, and even though Kwak Kyung-Taek's 태풍 (Typhoon) is still screening over about a hundred screens, it's very unlikely Showbox will continue pushing it for long, since the 5 Million (the film break even point) are now too far to reach. Next week will see the release of two very anticipated Korean films: 'My Boss, My Student', a sequel of the 2001 comedy 두사부일체 (My Boss, My Hero), and the action thriller 'Holiday', which received average reviews, but seems to be intriguing the public with its storyline. Both should take some wind off the top two films, but with the exception of 'My Boss, My Student' (which should have its press screening tomorrow or later in the week, and we'll probably cover it unless critics completely pan it), I don't think anything will get 'The King and The Clown' off the top spot until the Lunar New Year releases. Also on release the IMAX film The Polar Express, and Two Brothers.

Box Office Top 10 - Weekend of January 13/15

1.
왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown)
2005 KOREA - dir. Lee Joon-Ik [Cast: Gam Woo-Sung, Jung Jin-Young]
Distributed By Cinema Service - 41.0% (+2.9%) Share - 3,454 Per Screen Avg. - 389 Screens (+20)
4,758,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

2.
야수 (Running Wild)
2006 KOREA - dir. Kim Sung-Soo [Cast: Kwon Sang-Woo, Yoo Ji-Tae]
Distributed By Showbox - 20.8% (New) Share - 1,814 Per Screen Avg. - 389 Screens (New)
613,235 Tickets Sold Nationwide

3.
싸움의 기술 (The Art of Fighting)
2006 KOREA - dir. Shin Han-Sol [Cast: Baek Yoon-Shik, Jae Hee]
Distributed By CJ Entertainment - 10.8% (-7.1%) Share - 1,666 Per Screen Avg. - 260 Screens (-20)
1,070,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

4.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
2005 USA - dir. Andrew Adamson [Cast: Tilda Swinton, Jim Broadbent]
Distributed By Disney - 10.7% (-5.7%) Share - 1,416 Per Screen Avg. - 232 Screens (-36)
2,225,356 Tickets Sold Nationwide

5.
King Kong
2005 NZ/USA - dir. Peter Jackson [Cast: Jack Black, Naomi Watts]
Distributed By UIP - 8.9% (-3.2%) Share - 1,375 Per Screen Avg. - 210 Screens (-24)
4,030,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

6.
작업의 정석 (The Art of Seduction)
2005 KOREA - dir. Oh Gi-Hwan [Cast: Son Ye-Jin, Song Il-Guk]
Distributed By Showbox - 3.5% (-4.2%) Share - 786 Per Screen Avg. - 128 Screens (-80)
2,298,263 Tickets Sold Nationwide

7.
In Her Shoes
2005 USA - dir. Curtis Hanson [Cast: Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette]
Distributed By Fox Korea - 1.7% (New) Share - 700 Per Screen Avg. - 60 Screens (New)
Tickets Sold Nationwide

8.
태풍 (Typhoon)
2005 KOREA - dir. Kwak Kyung-Taek [Cast: Jang Dong-Gun, Lee Jung-Jae]
Distributed By CJ Entertainment - 1.4% (-3.1%) Share - 407 Per Screen Avg. - 105 Screens (-105)
4,180,000 Tickets Sold Nationwide

9.
The Alibi
2005 USA - dir. Matt Checkowski [Cast: Steve Coogan, Rebecca Romijn]
Distributed By Media Line - 0.4% (New) Share - 458 Per Screen Avg. - 50 Screens (New)
Tickets Sold Nationwide

10.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2005 UK/USA - dir. Mike Newell [Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Eric Sykes]
Distributed By Warner Brothers Korea - 0.4% (-1.0%) Share - 620 Per Screen Avg. - 22 Screens (-12)
3,815,300 Tickets Sold Nationwide

xx.
다섯개의 시선 (If You Were Me 2)
2006 KOREA dir. Ryu Seung-Wan/Jung Ji-Woo/Jang Jin/Kim Dong-Won [Cast: Kim Soo-Hyun, Ahn Gil-Gang, On Ju-Hwan] - OMNIBUS FILM
Distributed By CJ Entertainment - 0.1% (New) Share - 18 Screens (New)
4,500 Tickets Sold Nationwide

2006 Box Office Top 3 (Korean Films)
01. 싸움의 기술 (The Art of Fighting) - 1,070,000
02. 야수 (Running Wild) - 613,235
03. 다섯개의 시선 (If You Were Me 2) - 4,500

2005 Box Office Top 10 (Korean Films)

01. 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) - 8,002,594
02. 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2) - 5,663,000
03. 말아톤 (Marathon) - 5,179,154
04. 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown) - 4,758,000
05. 태풍 (Typhoon) - 4,180,000
06. 공공의 적 2 (Another Public Enemy) - 3,910,000
07. 친절한 금자씨 (Sympathy For Lady Vengeance) - 3,560,000
08. 너는 내 운명 (You Are My Sunshine) - 3,070,000
09. 마파도 (Mapado) - 3,020,000
10. 내 생애 가장 아름다운 일주일 (All For Love) - 2,545,000

All Time Box Office Top 10 (Korean Films)

01. 태극기 휘날리며 (Taegukgi) - 11,746,135 [2004]
02. 실미도 (Silmido) - 11,074,000 [2003]
03. 친구 (Friend) - 8,180,000 [2001]
04. 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) - 8,002,594 [2005]
05. 쉬리 (Shiri) - 6,210,000 [1999]
06. 공동경비구역 JSA (Joint Security Area) - 5,830,000 [2000]
07. 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2) - 5,663,000 [2005]
08. 조폭 마누라 (My Wife is a Gangster) - 5,250,000 [2001]
09. 가문의 영광 (Marrying the Mafia) - 5,200,001 [2002]
10. 말아톤 (Marathon) - 5,179,154 [2005]

[Sources: Film2.0, Yonhap News, Star News, nKino]