New release title “Recalled” injected a little excitement into the South Korean box office over the weekend, deposing last week’s winner “Seobok.” But the nationwide aggregate remained moribund.
The indie film is a mystery thriller that features a woman suffering from disturbing visions of accidents, post traumatic stress and her fight to find the truth despite the partially-remembered images. It is directed by Seo Yoo-min.
Its release pattern (957 screens) was marginally wider than the number of holdover screens for “Seobok” (902 screens). But “Recalled” managed to earn $856,000 over the weekend for a $1.01 million cumulative after five days.
It accounted for 27% of the box office, implying total business of just $3.17 million. The weekend total was 8% down on the previous session.
“Seobok” fell by 63% from $1.43 million over the previous weekend to just $529,000 in its second frame, and third place.
The film had been hotly anticipated by audiences, but its simultaneous availability on CJ ENM’s streaming service Tving may have taken away its legs.
Second place was claimed by the enduring Japanese anime film “Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train,” which grossed $816,000 over the weekend from 642 screens. Since its release on Jan. 27, “Demon Slayer” has earned $15.7 million, the second highest score this year, behind “Soul” with $17.0 million.
“Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet” fell from its previous second spot to fourth. It earned $282,000 over the weekend for a cumulative of $1.13 million after two weekends.
“Minari” enjoyed a modest pre-Oscars bump. It scored $105,000 and climbed back up the chart to fifth place. The previous weekend, it earned $93,500 in eighth place. Since release in South Korea on March 3, 2021, “Minari” has achieved a cumulative gross of $7.62 million, making it the third highest film this year in the country.