Christopher Nolan’s epic “The Odyssey” maintained its stranglehold on the South Korean box office during the September 4–6 weekend, surpassing a major milestone with 10 million admissions. The film grossed $5.9 million from 698,384 viewers across 1,858 screens, commanding 60.92% of the weekend market. With this victory, the film secured its fifth consecutive weekend at number one.
Since its August 5 debut, the blockbuster has accumulated a total of $83.2 million in cumulative gross, drawn from 10,027,970 ticket buyers, according to data released by KOBIS, the tracking service for the Korean Film Council.
Coming in second was the superhero sequel “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” which posted $942,178 from 146,674 admissions across 725 screens. The film captured 9.6% of the weekend box office, bringing its cumulative South Korean gross to $67.9 million from nearly 8.8 million viewers.
Horror film “Obsession” made a strong debut in third place. The sleeper hit earned $1.1 million from 138,447 admissions over 717 screens in its initial three-day run. Including its mid-week opening on September 2, the film has now grossed $1.4 million from 185,100 viewers.
In fourth place, local family drama “The Journey to Gyeongju” generated $359,527 from 49,417 admissions during its second weekend. Directed by Kim Mi-jo and featuring an ensemble cast including Lee Jung-eun, Gong Hyo-jin, and Park So-dam, the revenge-tinged narrative has now collected $2.1 million from 297,594 admissions nationwide.
“Portrait of a Family,” a local crime drama directed by Lee Ji-won, opened in fifth with $286,526 from 40,835 admissions. Starring Ryu Seung-ryong and Ha Ji-won, the story follows a former baseball star and a top actress whose lives unravel after a mysterious girl enters their world seven years later. Since its September 2 release, it has grossed $484,757 from 71,392 admissions.
Rounding out the top ten, “Power Ballad” debuted at sixth place with $251,801, while the animated sequel “Teenieping: Legend of the Whale Heartstone” held steady in seventh with $120,759. Ahead of its wide release, the remake “The Intern” earned $91,227 from preview screenings in eighth. Toho’s “Detective Conan the Movie: Fallen Angel of the Highway” placed ninth with $60,695, and “The End of Oak Street” completed the top 10 with $55,192 in its second frame.
The total weekend market gross reached $9.8 million, a decline from the previous week’s $13.5 million, continuing a broader post-summer slowdown in theater attendance.
Obsession making it to third is impressive for horror. Finally, something fresh besides blockbusters and superhero sequels.
Sixty percent of the market?! That’s an absolute stranglehold. It’s wild that a domestic film hasn’t challenged that.
Ten million is huge. Christopher Nolan clearly understands the Korean audience better than most local directors.