The film "The King and the Clown" (2005) will likely make its mark in Korean film history by setting a new box-office record.
"The King and the Clown", directed by Lee Joon-ik and produced by Eagle Pictures and CineWorld, has attracted a total of 11,616,067 viewers across the nation as of Mar. 2. Around Mar. 5, this film will likely break the box-office record previously held by the film "Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War" (2003) over two years. As of 2004, "Taegukgi" had attracted a total of 11.74 million viewers nationwide.
The distribution agency Cinema Service said on the morning of Mar. 3, "'The King and the Clown' has so far attracted a total of 11,610,067 viewers across the nation, as 6,184 more moviegoers in Seoul and 19,388 more viewers nationwide saw the film on Mar. 2. Given that it is still being shown at a total of 219 screens, the film will likely set a new box-office record, probably on the afternoon of Mar. 5, 67 days after it was released last Dec. 29".
When the number of viewers of "The King and the Clown" exceeded 10 million on Feb. 11, it was already anticipated that the film would set a new box-office record. "The King and the Clown" topped the charts in terms of advance ticket sales even after it had attracted 10 million viewers across the nation. Normally, when a showing comes to a close, the producers of certain films have been rumored to attempt to unreasonably mobilize moviegoers to set a box-office record. "The King and the Clown" still ranks second or third on various online charts for advance ticket sales, following the film "Lascivious Men".
"The King and the Clown" is a historical movie without any remarkable merits that explain its box-office success. Film critics are giving significantly high acclaim to the film, particularly considering that it is a low-budget film with production costs of a mere 4.3 billion won and with no top-class stars acting in it. With many fans seeing it more than twice, the film has also given rise to a "The King and the Clown" syndrome. Many politicians have made fresh attempts to get closer to the grass-roots people after watching the film.
The production agency has no particular plan to hold any event to celebrate a new box-office record, just as it did not hold any special event when the number of film viewers exceeded 10 million. Instead, director Lee Joon-ik and the lead actors Jeong Jin-yeong, Kam Woo-seong, Lee Joon-ki, and Kang Seong-yeon will say greetings and express their gratitude to fans onstage at Daehan Multiplex and Seoul Cinema on Mar. 3.
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