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'The Host' breaks 13 million viewer record, English version on the way

"The Host" breaks 13 million viewer record, English version on the way

Local sci-fi film "The Host", directed by Bong Joon-ho, continues to pick up steam more than 100 days after its domestic release.

Showbox, the Korean company in charge of distributing the film, confirmed on Monday (Nov. 6) that it passed the 13 million viewer mark on Oct. 15, 81 days after its release.

From the United States, film magazines reported that the record-setting film would be remade in English. Universal Pictures bought the remake rights.

"The Host" has received international acclaim recently both for freshly reviving the tradition of sci-fi monster movies and for skillfully integrating social and political allegory. In Korea, it broke the record for the most-attended film in theaters 38 days after its release, beating the previous 12.3 million-viewer record held by "The King and the Clown".

The decision on who will be the scriptwriter and director for the remake has yet to be made. The production credits will go to Vertigo Entertainment and Gold Circle Films, as well as Universal.

Meanwhile, domestic movies will likely claim more than 60 percent of the market share in Korea this year for the first time, according to a report released on Monday.

CJ CGV, a major movie theater chain, estimated the domestic market share of Korean-produced films at 61.9 percent during the January-October period this year.

That is almost triple the number in 1998, when the Korean Film Council started estimating the annual market share of domestic films. In 1998 the figure stood at 21.3 percent.

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