NOTES ON ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE AND MORE FROM KOREA (OR WHEREVER)

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Korea Weekend Box Office - Dec. 29-Jan. 1

Okay, I was surprised. Really, really surprised. For a second weekend in a row, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM was the big winner in Korea, beating out 200 POUND BEAUTY and (incredibly, in my opinion) MY WIFE IS A GANGSTER 3. Considering how well some really terrible sequels have performed in Korea, and that most of the reviews for GANGSTER 3 were fairly positive, I thought this film would do great. But instead GANGSTER 3 opened only in third place.

MUSEUM, on the other hand, just kept steamrolling over the competition, actually doing better on the second Friday. Because I find the day-by-day breakdown rather interesting, let me show you how MUSEUM has done since it was released Dec. 20:

Dec. 20 - 48,500
Dec. 21 - 86,510

Dec. 22 - 129,500 (Friday)
Dec. 23 - 315,180
Dec. 24 - 389,940
Dec. 25 - 385,400
Dec. 26 - 115,250
Dec. 27 - 124,620
Dec. 28 - 126,050

Dec. 29 - 160,090 (Friday)
Dec. 30 - 315,310
Dec. 31 - 349,260
Jan. 1 - 326,120
------------------
Total - 2,871,750

At the rate it is going, it looks like NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM is going to become the most successful foreign comedy in Korean history. At the moment, I believe that title is held by SHREK 2, which had 3.3 million admissions. I certainly cannot think of anything that did any better... unless you include action films with comedy overtones, like MR. & MRS. SMITH.

In general, foreign comedies do not do nearly as well as action movies. The Austin Powers movies barely made a ripple here. (After all, how could you translate all those sex puns?) (Or why would you want to?). MEET THE FOCKERS did not do much. BRIDGET JONES DIARY 2 had 1.5 million admissions. DEVIL WEARS PRADA had something over 1.7 million. And? I cannot think of anything else. So congratulations to Bill Stiller, I guess. Or to person who thought of animating a dinosaur skeleton during the winter vacation. Or something like that.

200 POUND BEAUTY is still doing well, now nearing the 4-million-admissions mark. And I do not see anything slowing it down any time soon. Im Sang-soo's THE OLD GARDEN almost certainly will not be a big draw. The following week HERB might do well (Koreans do seem to love heartwarming stories about the mentally retarded/disabled), or Leonard DiCaprio's BLOOD DIAMOND. At any rate, it seems safe to say 200 POUND is going to top 5-million admissions before its run is done.

Funny to see CASINO ROYALE in another tie this week. And with a different film than last week.

Good to see SCIENCE OF SLEEP continuing to do well. We need more offbeat films that like doing well here.

This WeekTitle........................................Release DateScreens NationwideWeekend Attendance (Seoul only)Total Attendance
1.Night at the Museum12.21363213,6002,871,800
2.200-Pound Beauty12.14396186,2003,804,900
3.My Wife Is a Gangster 312.28420110,700872,200
4.The Holiday12.1417562,0001,175,000
5.The Restless12.2133550,0001,408,000
6.Casino Royale12.2127549,200913,900
6. (tie)Happy Feet12.2116649,200609,900
8.Old Miss Diary12.2117639,000601,500
9.The Science of Sleep12.2155,20023,000
10.Little Miss Sunshine12.2162,4009,600

(Source: Film2.0)

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