“The Odyssey” held firm at No. 1 in South Korea for the weekend of Sept. 11-13, extending its box office reign to a sixth consecutive frame, according to KOBIS data from the Korean Film Council.
The Christopher Nolan-directed tentpole earned $3.9 million over the three-day session, drawing 449,474 admissions across 1,648 screens. That performance gave the film 51.4% of the total weekend market, keeping it well ahead of the rest of the field.
Since opening in South Korea on Aug. 5, “The Odyssey” has now reached $89.6 million from 10,782,715 admissions, making it the dominant title in the market through mid-September.
The weekend’s notable mover was “Obsession,” which rose to second place in its sophomore outing. The film collected $1.4 million from 176,479 admissions on 845 screens, accounting for 18.6% of the weekend market. Its cumulative total now stands at $3.7 million from 474,818 viewers.
The rest of the top five
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” landed in third place in its seventh weekend. The superhero tentpole added $544,123 from 84,719 admissions, representing 7% of the frame. Its South Korean total has climbed to $68.7 million from 8,930,413 admissions.
New release “The Drama” opened in fourth place, grossing $223,340 from 29,512 admissions across 616 screens during the weekend window. Since its Sept. 9 premiere, the film has taken in $404,575 from 53,631 total admissions.
Fifth place went to the local family road-trip drama “The Journey to Gyeongju,” which earned $124,071 from 17,206 admissions. Directed by Kim Mi-jo, the film stars Lee Jung-eun, Gong Hyo-jin, Park So-dam, Lee Yeon and Byun Yo-han. The revenge-tinged family narrative has now grossed $2.3 million from 332,960 viewers.
Holdovers, re-entries and previews fill out the chart
“Power Ballad” placed sixth with $110,283 from 15,277 admissions. Since its Sept. 2 debut, the film has accumulated $633,484 from 89,399 admissions.
The sci-fi thriller “Hope” returned to the top 10 in seventh place, adding $125,591 from 14,719 admissions. Directed by Na Hong-Jin, the alien-encounter feature stars Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. Its cumulative South Korean haul is $36.2 million from 4,566,216 ticket buyers.
Toho’s anime classic “Inuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time” entered the chart in eighth place. Directed by Toshiya Shinohara, the film earned $89,975 from 10,935 admissions across 129 screens, bringing its cumulative total to $159,850 from 19,829 admissions.
The local family crime-drama “Portrait of a Family” finished ninth with $66,614 from 9,752 admissions. Directed by Lee Ji-won and starring Ryu Seung-ryong and Ha Ji-won, the film centers on a former superstar baseball player and a top actress whose public lives unravel after the appearance of a mysterious young girl, pulling them into a desperate struggle seven years later. Its total now stands at $652,858 from 97,145 viewers.
Rounding out the top 10 was the animated adventure “Forgotten Island,” which took $70,125 from 9,314 admissions through early festival and special preview screenings. Ahead of its wide launch on Sept. 23, the film has reached a pre-release total of $88,051 from 11,772 viewers.
Overall, the South Korean box office generated $7.6 million for the weekend, down from $9.8 million the previous week.