“Dune 2” added $2.63 million in its second weekend in South Korea, but the sci-fi fantasy remained a long may short of the year’s runaway winner, “Exhuma,” which has dominated and dynamized box office for three weeks.
“Exhuma,” about two shaman, a feng shui master and a mortician who attempt to undo the mysterious events happening to a U.S.-based Korean family, earned $6.52 million between Friday and Sunday, representing a 67% share of the overall box office market, according to data from tracking service Kobis, operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). It was the third weekend in a row that “Exhuma” took two-thirds of Korean box office weekend total.
After nearly three weeks on release the film has earned a powerful $58.7 million from eight million admissions. “Exhuma” is now by far the top-earning film of 2024, with a total that is more than double the second-ranked film “Wonka,” which has a running score of $24 million.
“Dune 2,” which benefited from a recent visit to Korea by its stars, now has a 12-day running total of $11.0 million.
“Wonka,” which released at the end of January, remained in third place over the latest weekend with a score of $588,000.
“Poor Things,” released in time for a possible benefit from the Oscars, was the weekend’s highest new opener. It earned $296,000 between Friday and Sunday and $494,000 over its full five-day opening.
Korean animation “Bread Barbershop: Celeb in Bakery Town” ranked fifth with $240,000 and has a two-week running total of $959,000.
“Past Lives,” the Korean-language, U.S.-made drama film that is another Oscars contender, opened a quiet sixth place. It earned $228,000 over the weekend and $373,000 over its first five days.
“The Birth of Korea,” a biopic about a 19th-century Catholic priest, slipped to seventh place. It earned $142,000 over the weekend, for a cumulative of $8 million since the beginning of Feb.
Japanese animation, “Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba – To the Hashira Training,” the latest feature in the film and TV franchise, weakened to $93,000 in its fourth weekend in Korea. It has $4.12 million after playing since Feb. 14.
Chinese kids’ animation film, “The Tyrannosaurus Rex” fell to ninth position in its second weekend with $48,000, for a running total of $289,000.
Australian animation title, “Daisy Quokka: World’s Scariest Animal” made $50,000 and took tenth place.
