Chiikawa Holds Off Final Interview to Top Korean Box Office Again

Japanese animated phenomenon "Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island" held the top spot at the South Korean box office for a fourth consecutive weekend, Nov. 6–8, according to KOBIS, the tracking service run by the Korean Film Council.

The Toho-distributed fantasy earned $1.1 million from 149,050 admissions across 977 screens, taking 23.5% of the weekend market. Directed by Kei Oikawa and adapted from Nagano's popular manga, the film has now grossed $21 million from 2,788,843 admissions since its Sept. 30 rollout.

What came closest to unseating it?

Next Entertainment World's corporate mystery thriller "Final Interview" opened in second place with $787,344 from 104,476 admissions on 957 screens — 16.7% of theatrical receipts. Directed by Kim Jung-hoon and adapted from Akinari Asakura's bestselling novel, the film stars Cho Yi-hyun, Kim Jae-won, Shin Seung-ho, Kang You-seok, Kwak Dong-yeon and Bae Gang-hee as six finalists competing for one corporate position. Their two-hour mutual evaluation descends into chaos when envelopes containing their darkest secrets are exposed. Since launching mid-week on Nov. 4, it has grossed $1.2 million from 166,796 admissions.

Sony Pictures and TriStar's survival thriller "Heart of the Beast" took third in its second weekend with $667,817 from 90,679 admissions on 851 screens, 14.17% of the frame. The Brad Pitt-starring adventure has totaled $2.7 million from 379,763 viewers since Oct. 28.

Toho's anime special "Detective Conan: The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30" debuted fourth with $592,765 from 79,999 admissions on 409 screens (12.58%). The 30th-anniversary special, in which Conan Edogawa uncovers a counterfeit banknote ring and a linked murder, has accumulated $803,051 from 108,164 admissions since Nov. 5.

How deep does the anime hold run?

Very. Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's "The Cat in the Hat" opened fifth with just $200,431 from 29,259 admissions on 608 screens, and has taken $216,246 since its wide Nov. 6 opening. Aniplex's "Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie -Walpurgisnacht: Rising-" placed sixth on admissions (25,069 across 187 screens) but out-grossed it with $211,771, a 4.4% share, thanks to premium ticketing. Directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and Yukihiro Miyamoto, the long-awaited franchise sequel has grossed $362,956 from 43,319 admissions since its Nov. 4 premiere.

Anime re-release "Attack on Titan: Crimson Arrows" finished seventh with $125,629 from 14,448 admissions on 130 screens, lifting its cumulative total to $742,804 from 97,105 admissions.

Searchlight Pictures' Venice competition title "Wild Horse Nine" debuted eighth with $111,927 from 14,113 admissions on 318 screens, bringing its total to $166,275 from 21,394 admissions since Nov. 4.

Hur Jin-ho's political crime thriller "The Assassin(s)", distributed by Hive Media Corp and starring Yu Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho, ranked ninth in its seventh weekend with $90,222 from 12,333 admissions on 406 screens. Its reconstruction of the 1974 assassination attempt on President Park Chung-hee has amassed $25 million from 3,476,553 admissions since Sept. 23. The exam-committee workplace comedy "Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng", from By4M Studio and Barunson E&A and starring Lee Sun-bin and Yoo Jae-myung, rounded out the top ten with $70,527 from 10,340 admissions; its cumulative stands at $688,175.

What does this change for the market?

The overall weekend gross rose to $6.2 million, up from $5.3 million the previous week — and Japanese animation supplied four of the top seven titles. With Chiikawa showing no sign of slowing after four weeks, Korean distributors face an anime-saturated chart heading into mid-November.

By Grace Kim