“Deadpool & Wolverine” landed on top of the South Korea box office in a weekend double header with “Despicable Me 4.”
But, if the idea of opening two Hollywood franchise movies against each other was to shock Korean audiences back into the cinemas, it was a misfire.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” earned $5.48 million between Friday and Sunday, accounting for a nearly 45% share of the overall market, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Over its full five-day opening session, it accumulated $8.18 million.
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“Despicable Me 4” took second place with $2.42 million, representing 20% of the nationwide weekend total. Over its five-day opening run, the film earned $3.98 million.
Overall box office at the weekend was $12.2 million, a week-on-week improvement of 17%. But final figures for July are likely to significantly lag those of last year, when “Elemental,” “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1” and “Smugglers” were the top titles.
“Escape,” which a week earlier climbed to top spot in its third weekend, slipped back to third place. It dropped 44% to $1.45 million, for a 26-day cumulative of $15.7 million.
“Inside Out 2,” the top Hollywood film this year in Korea, added a further $948,000 over the weekend. Since releasing in Korea on June 12, it has amassed $57.7 million.
“Detective Conan the Movie: The Million Dollar Pentagram” fell from third place to fifth, earning $509,000 over the weekend. It has a 12-day cumulative of $3.97 million.
Low budget hit comedy, “Handsome Guys” added $442,000. After nearly five weeks on release, it has accumulated $11.6 million.
The big-budget disaster action film “Project Silence” earned $159,000 in its third weekend. It has a disappointing $4.74 million cumulative since releasing on July 12.
Previews for Lotte Entertainment comedy “Pilot” were enough to give the film eighth place over the latest weekend and a running total of $358,000. It opens officially on Wednesday.
“2023 Youngtak Concert: Tak Show 2,” a concert film made up of excerpts from singer Youngtak’s 2023 Korean tour performances, earned $120,000 over the weekend for a $537,000 cumulative. (Local charts, which rank films according to ticket sales numbers rather than gross revenues, showed the film outside the top ten.)
Korean-made animation, “Heartspring: Teenieping of Love” officially opens in Korean theaters on Aug. 7. But previews worth $64,000 were enough to give it tenth place in the latest weekend chart.
