“Gladiator II” topped the box office in South Korea through its opening sessions. But it did little to transform the recent dismal trend in Korean cinemas.
The Ridley Scott-directed sequel earned $2.31 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Over its full five-day opening, the film earned $3.19 million.
Its opening weekend figure was below that of several other Hollywood spectacles released in Korea this year, including “Wonka,” “Kung Fu Panda 4,” “Furiosa: A Mad Max Story,” “Deadpool and Wolverine” “Alien” Romulus” and “Venom: The Last Dance.” But it was stronger than the recent “Red One,” which fell to 18th place in its second weekend of release in Korea. “Red One” earned just $18,200 for a cumulative of $406,000 since releasing on Nov. 6.
“Gladiator II’s” weekend figure represented a creditable 40.6% of Korea’s nationwide theatrical business between Friday and Sunday. The overall market was worth $5.71 million, a week-on-week improvement, but not strong enough to reverse Korea’s box office slump since the summer.
The previous weekend’s joint winner, “Hear Me, Our Summer” slipped to second place in its second weekend of release. It earned $1.18 million for a 12-day running total of $3.57 million. The film is a Korean remake of a 2009 hit Taiwanese romantic comedy. A young man helps out with his sister, a hearing-impaired swimmer, and slowly falls in love with a girl he meets
New release horror film “Devil’s Stay” took third place. It earned $710,000 over the weekend and $1.02 million over its five-day opening run. Hailing from director Hyun Moon-sub, the film joins a growing list of Korean films about exorcism or shamanism, but has not had the impact of “Exhuma,” which topped the Korean charts for seven weeks between February and April and is the year’s top film with over $82 million to its account.
“Venom 3,” which shared the previous weekend’s lead with “Hear Me,” dropped to fourth place over the latest session. It earned $507,000 for a cumulative of $12 million since releasing on Oct. 23.
Below the top four, all other titles were a full step below. “Amazon Bullseye,” a Korean comedy drama about archery, earned $138,000 for a three-week total of $3.73 million. And “The Wild Robot” continued to function, earning $86,500 for a cumulative of $4.37 million.
A rerelease of 2016-17 Denis Villeneuve sci-fi mystery “Arrival” took seventh place with $65,000. Korea’s “Love in the Big City” earned $42,800 for an October-November cumulative of $5.93 million. Re-released
Japanese animation, “Weathering With You” took $41,200 in ninth place. And Korean-produced “Deadline” took $28,000 in its second weekend of release for a cumulative of $186,000.
