The South Korean box office experienced a significant boost over the Chuseok holiday weekend of September 25–27, driven by strong openings from two domestic titles. According to data from the Korean Film Council’s tracking service, KOBIS, the market collected $19.6 million, a substantial increase from the previous week’s $7.6 million.
Leading the charge was Hur Jin-ho’s political crime thriller “The Assassin(s),” which claimed the top spot with $8 million in gross revenue. The film attracted 1,119,156 admissions across 1,532 screens, capturing 40.9% of the weekend market. The movie reconstructs the August 15, 1974 assassination attempt on former President Park Chung-hee, an event that also claimed the life of First Lady Yuk Young-soo. Starring Yu Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho, the plot follows investigators probing missing ballistic evidence that challenges the official lone-gunman narrative. Since its September 23 release, the film has accumulated $11.2 million from 1,566,222 admissions.
Taking second place was the crime saga “Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub,” which earned $4.1 million from 566,526 viewers on 1,045 screens, accounting for 21.3% of the market. Directed by Choi Kook-hee and featuring Byun Yo-han, Noh Jae-won, and Ayaka Miyoshi, the fourth installment in the popular gambling franchise follows a betrayed former online casino operator seeking vengeance on the international poker circuit. With previews included, the title has grossed $6.1 million since its September 23 debut.
In third place for its eighth weekend was “The Odyssey,” which added $3.2 million from 364,763 admissions across 843 screens. The film holds 16.6% of the weekend share and has reached a cumulative total of $96.3 million and 11,783,301 admissions since its August 5 launch.
Last week’s admissions leader, “The Intern,” dropped to fourth in its second frame. The Warner Bros. Korea comedy remake, directed by Kim Do-young and starring Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee, generated $1.5 million from 206,347 ticket buyers on 722 screens. Its total haul now stands at $5.3 million from 756,057 viewers.
Auteur Lee Chang-dong’s social drama “Possible Love” entered the charts in fifth place. The Venice Grand Jury Prize winner, South Korea’s submission for the Oscars, starred Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Cho Yeo-jeong, and Zo In-sung. The film focuses on the tension between a working-class couple and a wealthy family documenting their lives after a strike. It earned $557,981 from 72,022 admissions across 195 screens, bringing its domestic total to $890,241 from 115,938 viewers since opening on September 23.
Rounding out the top 10, “Obsession” held sixth place with $542,493 in its fourth weekend, pushing its total to $6.6 million. “Avengers: Endgame Encore” opened at seventh with $550,939, while the “Resident Evil” reboot came in eighth with $291,213. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” placed ninth with $154,701, and the British animated entry “Octonauts: Above and Beyond – Season 2” closed the top 10 with an opening of $89,565.
The 1974 assassination detail is fascinating. Hur Jin-ho really brings depth to political thrillers.
Tazza 4 seems like cash grab. Hope it’s not as bad as the previous installments were getting.
Chuseok box office is huge this year. $19.6 million really shows how important these holidays are for Korean films.
Is it just me, or did ‘The Odyssey’ stay in the top three way too long? Should have dropped by now.
Only watched for Lee Min-ho, but the historical plot kept me hooked. Great casting choice.