A Million (Movie - 2009)

Box Office Score Peaks After 2-Year Low

Source | 2009/09/08 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

The South Korean box office saw an all-time high in August, drawing over 20 million moviegoers for the first time in two years, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) announced Monday.

Some 21.4 million tickets were sold, which purely in terms of numbers would account for about 43.2 percent of South Korea's 49.5-million population.

This is the third time that over 20 million tickets were sold in a single month. In January 2006 "My Boss, My Teacher" among others attracted 20.39 million audience members and, in August 2007, "D-War" and "May 18" were the main catalysts in bringing in 21.56 million moviegoers. Despite ranking second two years ago in terms of number of viewers, August pulled in the highest gross profit ― 153.9 billion won compared to 136.7 billion won in 2007.

Korean summer blockbusters "Haeundae" and "Take Off" attracted a total of 12.93 million moviegoers (60.4 percent of the box office sales). The two alternated between first an...| More

Actor Lee Min-ki Goes into Singing

Source | 2009/08/20 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Actor Lee Min-ki of "Haeundae" and "A Million" is trying out for a singing career. In a recent interview with the fashion magazine Numero Uno, Lee revealed that he had officially released an album titled "! No Kidding". His debut album garnered a lot of attention from music industry insiders, because a number of famous foreign producers, including Kid Loco, Popular Computer, and One Two, took part in the album-making process.

As if to quell any criticism that he's trying to cash in on his fame earned after starring in this summer's mega blockbuster "Haeundae", Lee said that he's very serious about starting a new! career as a musician and the album is not a one-time event. He admits that his singing skills lack the power and soulfulness of professional musicians, but he wanted to communicate his feelings with sincerity and innocence. He added that he wants people to think of his voice as just ...| More

Movie 'Take Off' Tops Box Office

Source | 2009/08/20 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The movie "Take Off" from director Kim Yong-hwa, has beaten "Haeundae" to top the box office three weeks after its release.

According to the Korean Film Council on August 17, "Take Off" drew 912,447 viewers at 677 theaters nationwide on August 14-16, topping the box office. So far, 3,961,887 viewers have seen the movie.

"Take Off", which opened July 29, had long trailed "Haeundae", which has drawn more than nine million viewers. "G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra", which started off at number 3 last week, has not changed in ranking and has drawn 1,800,213 viewers.

Numbers 4-6 went to three movies that opened concurrently on August 12. They are the animation film "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs", which has drawn 333,019 viewers; the movie "Public Enemy" starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale (205,832 viewers); and the Korean horror movie "Faith" (114,161 viewers).

The animation film "Up" has slipped down two notches to the 7th spot, drawing 961,832 viewers.

Mamoru Hosoda's film...| More

'Haeundae' Tops Booking Charts for 3rd Straight Week

Source | 2009/08/07 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The movie "Haeundae" has become the first domestic movie this year to draw over 5 million viewers. Moreover, the movie has topped the booking charts for three straight weeks. According to the Korean Film Council on August 6, "Haeundae" recorded booking rates of 35.0 percent, topping the ranks. It also took the top spots on Maxmovie (30.0 percent) and Interpark (39.0 percent).

Actor Lee Byeong-heon's Hollywood debut production "G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra", which opened on August 6, finished second at 22.8 percent, while "Take Off", which is about ski jumping, took the third spot at 18.5 percent.

The anime films "Up" (9.0 percent) and "Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser" (4.2 percent ) finished 4th and 5th, respectively, while the movie "A Million" starring Park Hae-il and Sin Min-ah finished 6th at 3.9 percent.

"Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs", "Bloody Valentine", "Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince" and "Queen Rock Montreal & Live Aid" recorded booking rates of about 1 pe...| More

Lee Min-ki revels in the art of acting

Source | 2009/08/06 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Actor Lee Min-ki, 24, who starred in the two recent Korean summer blockbusters "Haeundae" and "A Million", seems to be enjoying his newfound popularity.

Lee, who started out as a model and later ventured into acting, has been doing both for the past five years.

He has appeared in TV dramas such as "Dalja's Spring" and "Really Really Like You" and movies, including "Romantic Island" and "Oishi Man".

But it is through his two latest films that he has finally begun to gain a foothold as an actor.

In the Korean disaster film "Haeundae", Lee plays Hyung-sik, a Coast Guard who rescues a female college student and eventually falls in love with her. As Hyung-sik, Lee projects an air of innocence and self-sacrifice. In the film "A Million", however, Lee takes on the role of Cheol-hee, showing his gritty side as a hot-tempered Marine-turned-janitor who finds himself involved in a survival reality show where eight people are chosen to compete for $1 million in the Australian outback.
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