“Alien: Romulus” scored its second win at the South Korean box office over the weekend in another quiet opening that could signal the end of the summer season.
The action-horror film grossed $2.70 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, a tracking service run by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). After 12 days of release, its total has reached $9.81 million.
The film's weekend performance was only a modest 24% decline from the previous week, and the film's weekend market share remained steady at 28%.
That means the overall market also took a dive — by 23% — making it the first weekend with a sub-$10 million box office total for ten weeks. The lack of major titles hitting theaters could signal the end of the summer season — a vibrant one the previous year, often dominated by horror titles. Big domestic titles, like the “Veteran” sequel “I, The Executioner,” are targeting the mid- to late-September Chuseok holiday audience.
The hit comedy “Pilot” remained in second place over the weekend. It took in $1.55 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its total to $29.8 million. That makes it the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year.
Korean horror thriller “Spring Garden” was the weekend's top-grossing film, earning $1.13 million over the weekend and $1.52 million over its full five-day run.
The Korean animated film “Heartsping: Teenieping of Love” grossed $649,000 in its third weekend. After its release on August 7, the film's total revenue reached $5.41 million. It is a family film derived from a three-season TV series produced by SAMG Entertainment.
“Twisters,” which was released in Korea on August 14, dropped to fifth place with $729,000. After 12 days of release, the film has grossed $3.41 million.
The Korean political thriller “Land of Happiness” grossed $608,000 in its second weekend, bringing its total to $4.34 million. The film is the latest cinematic study of the political turmoil that swept Korea in the late 1970s.
“Victory,” a cheerleading drama, fell off the stage. It made $392,000 in its second weekend, and its total now stands at $2.06 million.
The newly released action comedy “Desperate Pursuit” also lost ground, grossing $313,000 over the weekend and $558,000 in its first five days.
The Japanese animated film “Blue Lock: Episode Nagi” grossed $148,000 from Friday to Sunday, placing it in ninth place. In its five days of release, the film grossed $273,000.
“Despicable Me 4” grossed $132,000 in its fifth weekend in South Korea, bringing its total to $10.6 million.
The total box office revenue in South Korea so far has reached 827 billion won or $627 million. This compares to 890 million won for the first eight months of 2023.
