Korean Cinemas Await BATMAN Revival

Confronted with another week of record COVID infections, theatrical admissions in Korea suffered once again, contracting 30% for a total of 350,000 sales over the weekend. Buoyed by a new wide release, the local market share recorded a slight improvement, rising to 18%. 

The Tom Holland video game adaptation action vehicle Uncharted maintained its first-place rank after a 50% decline, claiming 126,000 viewers (USD 1.05 million) over the weekend. To date, the film has filled 588,000 seats (USD 4.78 million) but may not go much further with direct competition likely to impact it going forward.

The Japanese animation Jujutsu Kaisen: Zero also held steady, with a strong 35% hold in second place. The film added 60,000 spectators (USD 519,000), giving it an 11-day haul of 291,000 entries (USD 2.43 million).

A year and a half after its domestic debut, the Hollywood horror film Antebellum bowed in third place with 32,000 sales (USD 270,000) over the weekend. Over five days, the film has sold 56,000 tickets (USD 440,000).

Bowing in fourth place was the period erotic drama SERVE THE PEOPLE, the latest film from Secretly Greatly (2013) director Jang Cheolsoo. The film claimed 26,000 viewers (USD 214,000) over the weekend, with 48,000 admissions (USD 371,000) counted in total since its Wednesday launch.

Down two spots and 49% was the local Lunar New Year title The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure. The swashbuckling sequel welcomed another 19,000 theatergoers (USD 80,000) over the weekend, pushing its five-week total to 1.31 million admissions (USD 10.28 million).

Looking to revive the box office this week will be the debut of the hotly anticipated comic book action reboot The Batman, which is comfortably leading the reservations chart, accounting for two-thirds of sales as of Monday morning.