[HanCinema's Weekend Box Office Review] 2013.03.01 ~ 2013.03.03
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HanCinema's Korean Box Office Review
(2013.03.01 ~ 2013.03.03)
Leading us into it the month of March was Park Hoon-jung's "The New World" as it stretched its lead on Lee Hwan-hyeong's golden child "Miracle in Cell No.7". The two films were separated by just 5,000 admissions last weekend, but it was Park's latest that managed to pull ahead this time around. This cops and robbers action film scored 849,378 (29.43%) admissions, moving its total to 2.5 million since its release two weeks ago. In addition to the top local films slugging it out there were a number of new inclusions that came into the fray this week, including Park Chan-wook's first English-language film "Stoker".
"Miracle in Cell No.7" has been electric at the box office this year, massing a wild total of 11,704,642 admissions during its six-week blitz in the top ten. The film has never slipped below second position during that time as fans continue to stream in to catch Korea's most popular film of the year. Coming in at number three is the U.S film "Jack the Giant Slayer" with 545,549 (19.4%), making it the only film this year to crack the 500,000 admissions at number three. The closest was "A Good Day to Die Hard" which claimed 479,370 in its opening weekend. "Jack the Giant Slayer" is a fantasy-adventure film that continues the trend we are seeing internationally as popular myths and fairy-tales are being adapted to the big screen. "The Berlin File" followed suit as it slipped one place from last week with 189,296 (6.4%).
The much-anticipated "Stoker" hit Korean theatres this week, Park Chan-wook's first English-language film. The script was actually written by Wentworth Miller and was on Hollywood's 2010 'black list' of the best un-produced scripts. Park worked on the project under Fox's Searchlight studio, the same studio that brought us Oscar winning "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Tree of Life". "Stoker" entered the charts with a very cautious 165,410 (5.8%). Coming in at number six was the Chinese film action adventure film "Chinese Zodiac", another myth-driven affair starring Jackie Chan which almost overtook "Stoker" with 162,566 (5.2%) of its own. The Indian animation "Delhi Safari" second week proved to a tough one, adding just 20,695 (2.5%) to its efforts in Korea, advancing "Delhi Safari" to 83,606.
Another animation that was push towards the wrong end of the chart was the U.S film "The Giant King". Released late February, "The Giant King" added a meek 33,808 (0.98%) to its total admissions count of 149,067. The Hong Kong-U.S collaboration "Sky Force 3D" positioned itself at nine, carrying off 30,991, followed by this weekend's number ten: "An Ethics Lesson". "An Ethics Lesson" is the debut film by Park Myeong-rang that entered the charts last week at four, but after a week it finds itself on the verge of being ejected from the top ten with just 18,065 keeping it afloat.
Korean Box Office - Admissions for the Weekend 2013.03.01 - 2013.03.03 (www.kobis.or.kr)
| # | Films | Release date | Week-end | Total |
| 1 | "The New World" (신세계) | 2013/02/21 | 849 378 | 2 530 054 |
| 2 | "Miracle in Cell No.7" (7번방의 선물) | 2013/01/23 | 777 976 | 11 704 642 |
| 3 | "Jack the Giant Slayer" | 545 549 | 659 853 | |
| 4 | "The Berlin File" (베를린) | 2013/01/30 | 189 296 | 6 997 754 |
| 5 | "Stoker" | 165 412 | 240 643 | |
| 6 | "'12' Chinese Zodiac Heads" (十二生肖) | 162 566 | 217 242 | |
| 7 | "Delhi Safari" | 83 606 | 280 563 | |
| 8 | "YAK : The Giant King" (ยักษ์) | 33 808 | 149 067 | |
| 9 | "Sky Force 3D" | 30 991 | 43 496 | |
| 10 | "An Ethics Lesson" (분노의 윤리학) | 2013/02/21 | 18 065 | 215 985 |
| Korean movies only | ||||
| "Pororo, The Racing Adventure" (뽀로로의 슈퍼 썰매 대모험) | 2013/01/24 | 15 537 | 920 581 | |
| "How to Use Guys with Secret Tips" (남자사용설명서) | 2013/02/14 | 10 578 | 502 454 | |
| "Nobody's Daughter Haewon" (누구의 딸도 아닌 해원) | 2013/02/28 | 8 106 | 11 604 | |
| "Jiseul" (지슬) | 2013/03/21 | 3 348 | 3 573 | |
| "Psycho-metry" (사이코메트리) | 2013/03/07 | 3 140 | 5 363 | |
| "Two Sons Crying for their Mother Love" (모정에 우는 두 아들, 1972) - Re-release | 2 419 | 2 831 | ||
| "Behind the Camera" (뒷담화:감독이 미쳤어요) | 2013/02/28 | 1 377 | 3 206 | |
| "The Sunshine Boys" (1999, 면회) | 2013/02/21 | 417 | 2 387 | |
| "Goodbye Homerun" (굿바이 홈런) | 2013/02/14 | 326 | 1 952 | |
| "Run to the South" (남쪽으로 튀어) | 2013/02/06 | 268 | 832 763 | |
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