South Korean audiences embraced homegrown content this weekend as “Hi-Five” debuted at No. 1, narrowly overtaking the reigning Hollywood champion in terms of admissions.
The new release earned $2.6 million from 380,334 admissions across 1,211 screens, capturing 32.36% of the nationwide revenue share, according to Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. Directed by Kang Hyoung-chul, the film follows five ordinary people who develop superpowers after receiving organ transplants and form an unlikely team to fight a psychic who covets their powers.
Close on its heels in second place was “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” which added $2.67 million from 370,876 admissions, accounting for 33.18% of the weekend’s market share. Despite outgrossing “Hi-Five” slightly in pure box office, it was ranked second due to lower admissions. The Tom Cruise-led action thriller continues its successful run, with a cumulative total of $17.7 million from over 2.47 million admissions since its May 17 release.
Another local debut, “Big Deal,” opened in third with $932,024 and 131,626 admissions from 1,040 screens. The ensemble drama, directed by Choi Yun-jin, follows a confrontation between Korea’s top soju company, which is in danger of bankruptcy, and a global investor targeting the company.
Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch” held steady in fourth place with $645,367 over the weekend, taking its cumulative haul to $2.2 million and 321,770 admissions since May 21.
Japanese animated fantasy “Magic Candies” followed in fifth with $89,359 from 24,538 admissions. Fellow Japanese animation “Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing” took sixth with $141,905, bringing its cumulative total to $232,964 and 33,355 admissions.
In seventh place, “Sinners” earned $164,324, bringing its running total to $297,376.
Long-running local hit “Yadang: The Snitch” slipped to eighth but added $95,082, pushing its lifetime gross to $23.2 million from more than 3.36 million admissions.
Ninth place went to another new South Korean entry, occult political thriller “The Pact,” which earned $99,676 from a day on release, drawing 12,832 viewers.
Rounding out the top 10, animated film “The Bad Guys” collected $72,615, bringing its cumulative total to $2.9 million since its original 2022 release.
In total, the weekend’s top 10 titles brought in just under $7.6 million, a shade under last week.