After a sluggish few weeks where the South Korean box office struggled to cross a total of $10 million, “Moana 2” and local hit “The Firefighters” improved matters somewhat. The total box office for the weekend was just above $16 million.
“Moana 2” led the box office for the second weekend in a row with $4 million, a 36.4% market share and 610,389 admissions, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. The film now has a cumulative gross of $14.1 million in the territory.
Close behind in second place was Dec. 4 release “The Firefighters” with $3.7 million, a 34.2% market share and 569,286 admissions. The five-day total for the film is $4.8 million.
Directed by Kwak Gyeong-Taek (“A Love”), the film revolves around a fire station in Seoul, where a rookie firefighter joins the Rescue Unit and is quickly sent out on his first mission alongside a seasoned veteran, celebrated for saving many lives. In the chaos of a raging fire, the veteran defies the chief’s orders to withdraw, determined to save an occupant. Though he succeeds in rescuing a young girl, the mission ends in tragedy with the loss of a colleague. Tension builds as the rookie confronts the veteran, blaming him for the loss. Amid their unresolved conflict, they are called to another fire.
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Last weekend’s second placed film, “Wicked,” moved down a place to third, collecting $1.2 million, for a total of $10.3 million. In fourth place, sports drama “One Win,” another Dec. 4 release, headlined by Korean superstar Song Kang-ho, earned $629,250, for a total of $1.1 million.
Rounding off the top five was mystery-thriller “Hidden Face” from veteran Kim Dae-woo (“The Servant”) that collected $598,100 for a total of $5.9 million. Also releasing on Dec. 4 was virtual K-pop band PLAVE’s concert film “Hello, Asterum,” which scored $417,835 over five days in sixth place. Among the plethora of new releases was Korean horror “The Unrighteous,” which collected $63,414 in five days from Dec. 4 in seventh place.