Zombie action thriller, “Peninsula” dominated the South Korean box office for the second weekend. I beat competition that comprised a mix of reruns and smaller local titles.
“Peninsula,” a sequel to the 2016 hit “Train to Busan,” earned $4.49 million between Friday and Sunday. Earned from 2,100 screens, that was a respectable drop of 52% compared with its opening weekend score of $9.92 million. It propels the film’s cumulative score in its home market to $21.0 million since its July 15 release through distributor Next Entertainment World.
“Peninsula” alone accounted for 81% of the nationwide box office in Korea, down from 93% the previous weekend. But with no other strong new release title in the market, the overall weekend total dropped.
Aggregate box office for the top 10 films was $5.32 million, compared with $9.77 million in the previous weekend. That down trend could be reversed next weekend with the release of political-military thriller “Steel Rain 2: Summit,” which arrives in Korean theaters on Wednesday.
In second place was newly re-released animation “Aladdin,” which earned $244,000, or 4.4% of the total market, earned from 549 screens. Third place belonged to “#Alive,” a Korean film released a month ago. It earned $110,000, a 27% week-on-week decline, for a five-weekend cumulative of $13.3 million.
“Bombshell,” which had placed second the previous weekend, slipped to fourth place. Its weekend score Of $90,000, lifted its three weekend cumulative to $1.17 million.
Other titles in the top 10 included “Une Sirene A Paris,” “Only,” and Japan’s “Blue Hour,” each with a fraction over 1% market share. Chinese youth drama “Better Days” increased its week-on-week take by a third to notch $62,000 over the weekend and a cumulative in Korea of $338,000. (Released last year in China, it earned RMB1.56 billion of $222 million).
“Peninsula” grossed $265,000 on 51 Imax screens in six territories over the weekend, to lift its Imax cumulative to $1.06 million. It is now the highest grossing local language title ever to play on Imax screens in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. The film’s Imax cumulative in Korea is $481,000.