[HanCinema's Box Office Review] 2014.01.24 ~ 2014.01.26
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"Frozen" remains solid at the top but local flicks still dominated...
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The Oscar-nominated animation "Frozen" held its form at the top of the pile to secure its second weekend as number one. Despite the string of popular local features Walt Disney's winter wonderland was able to pack on another 1.2 million admissions (36.2%) to advance its total tally now to 3.1 million ($22.2M). However "Miss Granny", "Hot Young Bloods", "When A Man Loves A Woman" (aka "Man In Love"), and Yang Woo-seok's popular drama "The Attorney" all followed in close formation with respectable figures to collectively capture 59.3% of the ticket sales.
Last weekend the critically acclaimed "Frozen" enter the Korean charts and snatched a million stubs in week one. That opening success was strongly followed here as this Oscar favourite put up an additional 1.2 million. The foreign animation had the most screens to help its cause (957), and with these lastest figures in the film now moves onto 3.1 million tickets sold.
From second place to fifth it was all the home team, with Hwang Dong-hyuk's "Miss Granny" leading the charge with 849,745 (23.25%) over 686 screens. "Miss Granny" follows a 74-year-old widow who is a serious burden on her family and, after her family decides to do something about her, she mysteriously finds herself back in her rocking twenties. This comedy drama stars Shim Eun-kyung ("Sunny – 2010" and "Masquerade") and Na Moon-hee and comes from the same directing talent that brought us the heartfelt "Silenced" back in 2011.
Lee Yeon-woo's "Hot Young Bloods" (starring Park Bo-young, Lee Jong-suk, Lee Se-young, and Kim Young-kwang) followed in third, claiming a healthy 619,079 (16.3%) stubs in its first weekend out. This, Lee's second feature after "Running Turtle", follows four passionate young high schoolers and their complicated country romances during the 1980s. "Hot Young Bloods" opened with the support of 676 screens and is fast approaching the million admissions mark.
In fourth came Han Dong-wook's melodrama "When A Man Loves A Woman" (444,779 – 12.5%) starring Hwang Jung-min and Han Hye-jin. Director Han has been involved in a number of successful and praised features (e.g. he was the assistant director for "The New World", "Nameless Gangster", and "The Unjust") but this is his first solo flight as director. The film is a fatal love story of a terminally ill gangster and a woman he falls for, quite similar in plot to the Oscar-nominated "The Dallas Buyers Club" by Jean-Marc Vallée.
Last week Yang Woo-seok's "The Attorney" joined a very elite list of Korean features, becoming only the ninth Korean film to surpass the mythical 10 million admissions mark. The blockbuster has spent six weeks now in the top ten, but is finally showing signs of age as it occupied fifth place here with 259,382 (7.2%). That moves this Song Kang-ho-studded flick onto an incredible 10.6 million admission ($71.6M), and its not quite done yet.
From there the admissions count really dropped off sharply, starting with the Japanese animation "Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen" (35,720 – 0.89%) which was granted just 182 screens to help its cause. Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" (26,128 – 0.78%), the Germany's "Tarzan 3D" (18,158 – 0.47%), "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" (14,541 – 0.39%) followed, and this past weekend was rounded out by Won Shin-yun's action thriller "The Suspect" (9,971 – 0.27%). "The Suspect" was released late last year and despite being largely over-shadowed by "The Attorney" it has managed to score an impressive 4.1 million admissions ($27.5M).
What's coming out next week in Korea? [HanCinema's Film News] New Korean Films Inbound...
Last weekend's report: [HanCinema's Box Office Review] 2014.01.17 ~ 2014.01.19
Korean Box Office - Admissions for the Weekend 2014.01.24 - 2014.01.26 (www.kobis.or.kr)
| # | Films | Release date | Week-end | Total |
| 1 | "Frozen" | 1 242 158 | 3 124 999 | |
| 2 | "Miss Granny" (수상한 그녀) | 2014/01/23 | 849 745 | 1 162 672 |
| 3 | "Hot Young Bloods" (피끓는 청춘) | 2014/01/23 | 619 079 | 920 292 |
| 4 | "When A Man Loves A Woman" (남자가 사랑할 때) | 2014/01/22 | 444 779 | 635 701 |
| 5 | "The Attorney" (변호인) | 2013/12/19 | 259 382 | 10 667 587 |
| 6 | "Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen" (仮面ライダー×スーパー戦隊 スーパーヒーロー大戦) | 35 720 | 41 041 | |
| 7 | "The Wolf of Wall Street" | 26 128 | 552 499 | |
| 8 | "Tarzan 3D" | 18 158 | 590 836 | |
| 9 | "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" | 14 541 | 319 082 | |
| 10 | "The Suspect" (용의자) | 2013/12/24 | 9 971 | 4 127 902 |
| Korean movies only | ||||
| "The Huntresses" (조선미녀삼총사) | 2014/01/29 | 2 539 | 5 269 | |
| "Plan Man" (플랜맨) | 2014/01/09 | 1 612 | 635 127 | |
| "The Murderer" (살인자) | 2014/01/16 | 942 | 87 725 | |
| "Hype Nation 3D" (하이프네이션 : 힙합사기꾼) | 2014/01/16 | 608 | 3 792 | |
| "Taste" (맛) | 2014/01/16 | 503 | 5 021 | |
| "Marriage Blue" (결혼전야) | 2013/11/21 | 492 | 1 214 356 | |
| "The Dinner - 2013" (만찬) | 2014/01/23 | 415 | 865 | |
| "Marbling" (한 번도 안 해본 여자) | 2014/01/16 | 390 | 9 582 | |
| "Stray Dogs" (들개들) | 2014/01/23 | 364 | 800 | |
| "The North and South" (남과 북, 1965) - Re-release | 354 | 354 | ||
- C.J. Wheeler (chriscjw@gmail.com; @KoreaOnTheCouch)