'Chiikawa' Holds Korea Box Office Lead; Brad Pitt Thriller Debuts Second

By Marcus Bennett

"Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island" earned $1.7 million in South Korea over the weekend of Oct. 30–Nov. 1, holding the No. 1 box office position for a third consecutive frame. According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the Toho-distributed fantasy release drew 221,651 admissions across 1,167 screens and claimed 32.1% of the weekend market.

Directed by Kei Oikawa and adapted from the popular manga by Nagano, the animated blockbuster has now grossed a cumulative $20.1 million from 2,583,851 admissions since its Sep. 30 rollout. No new release came close to displacing it.

Can any newcomer challenge the anime hit?

Not this weekend. Sony Pictures and TriStar's survival thriller "Heart of the Beast" opened in second place, pulling in $1.2 million from 162,790 admissions across 1,106 screens to capture 23% of theatrical revenue. Since opening mid-week on Oct. 28, the title has accumulated $1.5 million from 215,237 admissions.

By4M Studio and Barunson E&A's workplace comedy "Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng" debuted in third. It took in $326,609 from 44,799 admissions across 677 screens, for a 6.09% market share.

The film marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Lee Yong-jae and stars Lee Sun-bin, Yoo Jae-myung, Kim Young-min and Jeon Seok-ho. Its premise: a high school language teacher is unexpectedly sequestered into the top-secret 40-day test-writing committee for the national college entrance examination. Following its premiere at the Busan International Film Festival and an Oct. 28 commercial bow, the comedy has grossed $505,208 from 71,767 viewers.

What explains the staying power further down the chart?

Director Hur Jin-ho's political crime thriller "The Assassin(s)" placed fourth in its sixth frame, collecting $307,719 from 41,265 admissions across 620 screens for 5.7% of receipts. Distributed by Hive Media Corp and starring Yu Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho, the drama reconstructs the August 15, 1974 assassination attempt on President Park Chung-hee. Despite ongoing legal complaints and protests from conservative civic groups alleging historical distortion over its portrayal of state inquiry contradictions, the title lifted its cumulative total to $25.5 million from 3,448,036 admissions since its Sep. 23 launch.

Anime re-release "Attack on Titan: Crimson Arrows" placed fifth, grossing $266,616 from 30,263 admissions across 233 screens. The theatrical re-issue of the 2014 feature pushed its cumulative haul to $547,187 from 72,324 admissions.

CJ ENM's gambling drama "Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub" took sixth place, earning $208,310 from 26,650 admissions across 498 screens. Directed by Choi Kook-hee and starring Byun Yo-han, Noh Jae-won and Ayaka Miyoshi, the fourth installment in the comic-adapted franchise officially crossed the two-million-ticket threshold. It has reached $15.7 million from 2,055,522 total viewers.

What fills out the top ten?

CJ Entertainment's psychological thriller "Paradise Lost," directed by Yeon Sang-ho and starring Kim Hyun-joo and Bae Hyun-sung, placed seventh on the admissions chart with $124,104 from 17,053 admissions across 593 screens. Its cumulative total now stands at $1 million from 151,429 admissions.

Warner Bros. and DC Studios' "Clayface" placed eighth in admissions with 16,641 viewers across 444 screens, though it generated a higher revenue gross of $140,321. The film has accumulated $899,915 from 115,464 admissions.

Universal's tentpole "The Odyssey" took ninth place in its 13th weekend, adding $108,833 from 13,332 admissions across 254 screens. The film took 2.02% of the frame, lifting its cumulative total to $106.4 million from 12,335,377 admissions since its Aug. 5 opening.

Rounding out the top ten, Japanese romantic drama "You, Like a Star" debuted with $77,264 from 10,091 admissions across 154 screens. Directed by Michihito Fujii and starring Ryusei Yokohama and Suzu Hirose as young lovers bound by shared hardship on an island in the Seto Inland Sea, the film has grossed $146,509 from 20,478 admissions since its Oct. 28 release.

What does this change for the market?

The overall weekend gross came in at $5.3 million, down from the previous week's $5.6 million. Japanese titles now anchor three of the top ten positions, and "Chiikawa" shows no sign of relinquishing its lead. The coming weeks will test whether imported animation can keep carrying a softening Korean theatrical market, or whether a domestic breakout will need to step in.