Local Doc CANDLELIGHT REVOLUTION Leads Limited Releases

The Korean box office continued to contract owing to rising Omicron cases in the country, but the drop levelled off somewhat to just over 10% with 358,000 seats filled over the past weekend. Though the local industry lost the top spot, it maintained a sturdy 40% of sales. However, with no major new releases on deck, that share will likely keep dropping throughout the month.

Topping the charts in its first week out was the Agatha Christie adaptation Death on the Nile, which debuted with 95,000 entries (USD 794,000) over the weekend and has sold 141,000 tickets (USD 1.15 million) since its Wednesday bow. Murder on the Orient Express, the previous Kenneth Branagh-directed Christie adaptation from 2017, ultimately brought in 865,000 viewers.

Slipping a spot and 60% during its third weekend was the local period action sequel The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure. The swashbuckler added 65,000 sales (USD 532,000), boosting its total to 1.21 million admissions (USD 9.8 million).

Fellow Lunar New Year release Kingmaker was also down one rank and 55% as it welcomed 49,000 spectators (USD 405,000). To date, the political drama has secured 707,000 admissions (USD 5.71 million).

Slowing 52%, Spider-Man: No Way Home was still a threat over two months into its run. The Marvel title filled another 22,000 seats (USD 156,000) to bring its total to 7.49 million entries (USD 62.24 million).

Debuting in fifth place was the women’s action film 355 with 18,000 viewers (USD 145,000) over the weekend, and 31,000 tickets (USD 235,000) sold over its first five days.

Leading all limited releases and hitting sixth place on the overall chart was the debut of the local documentary Candlelight Revolution, which documents the candlelight protests. The film sold 15,000 tickets (USD 128,000) with a total of 25,000 seats (USD 216,000) filled to date.

This week should welcome a new champion on the charts, which is likely to be the video game adaptation Uncharted with Tom Holland, though the Japanese animation Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is also poised for a strong debut.