Despite an acclaimed new local film adding some variety to the marketplace, business was down almost 30% during the first weekend of April. All told, 417,000 tickets were sold, with 34% going to domestic titles.

Godzilla vs. Kong put on some very strong numbers over the weekend in America and continues to perform well internationally as the biggest Hollywood success during the pandemic, but its performance in Korea has been a bit softer as a weaker response has led to a 49% slide during its sophomore weekend. The creature feature added 147,000 viewers (USD 1.3 million) over the weekend, with 564,000 tickets (USD 4.78 million) sold to date.

Though it wasn’t able to claim first place, LEE Joon-ik’s new period drama The Book of Fish, starring SUL Kyung-gu and BYUN Yo-han, was no slouch in its debut with 109,000 sales (USD 905,000) accumulated over the weekend and 163,000 seats (USD 1.25 million) filled over its first five days. The critical and audience response has so far been very strong, pointing to a healthy run going forward.

Still a threat after over two months on the charts was the Japanese animation Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train, which slowed just 32% over the weekend, as it claimed another 60,000 admissions (USD 526,000). To date, the film has welcomed 1.58 million moviegoers (USD 13.45 million).

Down a steeper 61% during its fifth weekend in cinemas was the Korean-American indie hit Minari. The award-winning film clinched 25,000 sales (USD 216,000) over the weekend, with 873,000 viewers (USD 7 million) banked to date.

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish, the animated remake of the Japanese classic which served as the closing film of last year’s Busan International Film Festival, debuted in fifth place with 10,000 sales (USD 86,000). The film has filled 16,000 seats (USD 126,000) since Wednesday.

Opening in eighth place was KIM Jong-kwan’s indie drama Shades of the Heart, a Jeonju Cinema Project that debuted at the Jeonju International Film Festival in 2019. The film sold 7,000 tickets (USD 59,000) over the weekend with 14,000 entries (USD 106,000) banked to date.

Leading the reservations charts as of Monday morning is Nobody, the Hollywood action thriller starring Bob ODENKIRK, but with word of mouth growing, The Book of Fish will once again be a serious contender for the top spot.