The Japanese animated fantasy film “Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island” has claimed the top spot at the South Korean box office for the weekend of October 9–11. According to data from the Korean Film Council’s tracking service, KOBIS, the Toho-distributed feature narrowly defeated local political drama “The Assassin(s)” by a margin of just 215 admissions.
“Chiikawa,” directed by Kei Oikawa and based on Nagano’s popular manga, generated $3.13 million from 407,895 viewers across 1,067 screens, capturing 29.7% of the weekend market. The film, which follows the titular character and companions as they uncover a supernatural peril on a remote island, has accumulated $9.9 million and over 1.28 million admissions since its September 30 release.
“The Assassin(s),” distributed by Hive Media Corp, finished second with $3.03 million from 407,680 admissions across 1,312 screens, accounting for 28.78% of the market. Directed by Hur Jin-ho, the period crime drama reconstructs the 1974 assassination attempt on President Park Chung-hee. Despite facing significant controversy and legal challenges regarding its depiction of historical events, the film has grossed $21.8 million from nearly 3 million viewers since its September 23 launch.
“Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub,” CJ ENM’s gambling crime drama, held third place in its third weekend. Directed by Choi Kook-hee and starring Byun Yo-han, the fourth installment in the franchise earned $1.4 million from 190,080 admissions. Its cumulative total stands at $13.1 million from 1.74 million admissions since its September 23 debut.
Universal’s Christopher Nolan-directed epic “The Odyssey” secured fourth place in its tenth weekend, drawing $979,402 from 95,215 admissions. The film has now become the highest-grossing international release in Korean box office history, with a cumulative total of $103.1 million from 12.1 million admissions.
Other notable entries in the top 10 included Lotte Entertainment’s “Reawakened Man” in fifth place, director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Look Back” in sixth, and Takashi Shimizu’s horror film “The Mouths” in seventh. Focus Features’ “Obsession” and Warner Bros.’ satirical black comedy “Digger” rounded out the top nine, with Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame Encore” completing the list in tenth place.
The overall South Korean box office grossed $10.5 million for the weekend, a decrease from the $12.6 million recorded the previous week.
Nolan making history in Korea is wild. I never thought an international release would top ten years later there.
What a incredibly tight race! Losing by just one hundred admissions is brutal for The Assassin’s team.