Director Hur Jin-ho‘s political crime thriller “The Assassin(s)” powered to the top of the South Korean box office over the weekend of Sep. 25–27, leading a major holiday box office surge across the peak Chuseok festival frame.
According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the newly opened local title generated $8 million from 1,119,156 admissions over the three-day frame across 1,532 screens, claiming 40.9% of the weekend market. the period investigation drama reconstructs the August 15, 1974 assassination attempt on President Park Chung-hee during a National Liberation Day ceremony that resulted in the death of First Lady Yuk Young-soo. The plot follows a detective, played by Yu Hae-jin, alongside a veteran newspaper society desk chief, portrayed by Park Hae-il, and a rookie reporter, played by Lee Min-ho, as they investigate missing ballistic evidence that contradicts the state’s lone-gunman verdict. Since launching on Sep. 23, the release has accumulated $11.2 million from 1,566,222 admissions.
Crime saga “Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub” opened in second place, taking in $4.1 million from 566,526 admissions across 1,045 screens, accounting for 21.3% of the market. Directed by Choi Kook-hee and starring Byun Yo-han, Noh Jae-won, and Ayaka Miyoshi, the fourth installment in the comic-adapted gambling franchise follows a betrayed former online casino operator who enters the international poker circuit for a high-stakes duel of vengeance. Counting previews and holiday crowds since its Sep. 23 release, the title has earned $6.1 million from 833,030 admissions.
“The Odyssey” took third place in its eighth weekend, adding $3.2 million from 364,763 admissions across 843 screens. The film took 16.6% of the weekend market. Its haul has reached $96.3 million from 11,783,301 total admissions since its Aug. 5 launch.
Last week’s chart-topper in admissions, “The Intern,” moved to fourth place in its sophomore frame. Directed by Kim Do-young and starring Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee, the Warner Bros. Korea comedy remake generated $1.5 million from 206,347 admissions across 722 screens, capturing 7.6% of receipts. That lifted its cumulative total to $5.3 million from 756,057 viewers.
Auteur Lee Chang-dong’s social drama “Possible Love” debuted in fifth place, earning $557,981 from 72,022 admissions across 195 screens. The Venice Grand Jury Prize winner stars Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Cho Yeo-jeong, and Zo In-sung, centering on the psychological tension between a working-class couple in the aftermath of a strike and a wealthy couple filming a documentary about them. Since its Sep. 23 bow, South Korea’s Oscar submission has amassed $890,241 from 115,938 admissions.
“Obsession” was in sixth place in its fourth frame, grossing $542,493 from 67,619 admissions across 471 screens. The film now has $6.6 million from 849,155 ticket buyers.
“Avengers: Endgame Encore” opened in seventh place, taking $550,939 from 63,273 admissions over the frame across 178 screens and has $941,892 from 107,950 viewers.
“Resident Evil” was in eighth place, collecting $291,213 from 36,459 admissions. The survival horror reboot has reached $1.4 million from 186,950 total admissions.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” placed ninth, pulling in $154,701 from 22,278 admissions, lifting its haul to $67.4 million from 9,032,429 admissions.
Rounding out the top 10 was the British animated adventure “Octonauts: Above and Beyond – Season 2”, which opened with $89,565 from 12,636 admissions across 239 screens, reaching $125,089 from 17,779 viewers since its Sep. 23 debut.
The overall market collective gross for the weekend was $19.6 million, a healthy uptick from last week’s $7.6 million, thanks to the holiday.