Two Korean Films Dominate South Korean Box Office During Chuseok Holiday

Staff Report | PNN

Moviegoers flocked to cinemas across South Korea during the Chuseok holiday. Much of the increased audience turnout was drawn by two newly released Korean films—Hur Jin-ho’s political crime thriller ‘The Assassins’ and ‘Tazza 4: The Song of Bilzebub’, the fourth installment of the popular ‘Tazza’ franchise.

According to data from the Korean Film Council’s box-office tracking service KOBIS, ‘The Assassins’ generated the highest box-office revenue in South Korea during the weekend from September 25 to 27. The film earned approximately $8 million over the three-day period, attracting 1,119,156 moviegoers.

Screened at 1,532 theaters, the film accounted for 40.9 percent of the total box office during those three days. Since its release on September 23, the film’s total revenue has reached approximately $11.2 million, while the number of viewers has exceeded 1.56 million.

‘The Assassins’ was directed by South Korean filmmaker Hur Jin-ho. The film is based on the assassination attempt against then-President Park Chung-hee on August 15, 1974. Park’s wife, Yuk Young-soo, was killed in the attack.

However, the movie does not remain limited to a reconstruction of the historical incident. Instead, it places at the center of its story various questions that emerged during the investigation, along with information that did not fully correspond with the official account of the incident.

In the story, a detective, a veteran newspaper journalist and a young reporter become involved in investigating the incident. During their investigation, they discover ballistic evidence that does not fully fit the commonly accepted explanation involving a ‘lone gunman’. The plot then progresses around their efforts to uncover the mystery.

Yoo Hae-jin plays the detective in the film. Park Hae-il portrays the senior newspaper journalist, while Lee Min-ho plays the role of the young reporter.

Meanwhile, ‘Tazza 4: The Song of Bilzebub’ ranked second in attracting audiences during the Chuseok holiday. Directed by Choi Kook-hee, the film earned approximately $4.1 million over the three-day period from September 25 to 27. During that time, 566,526 people watched the movie.

Playing at 1,045 theaters, the film accounted for 21.3 percent of the total weekend box office. Including revenue from preview screenings and the Chuseok holiday following its September 23 release, the movie has earned approximately $6.1 million in total, with its audience exceeding 833,000.

The fourth film in the popular ‘Tazza’ series is based on the well-known comic book franchise. The cast includes Byun Yo-han, Noh Jae-won and Japanese actress Ayaka Miyoshi.

This installment tells the story of revenge involving a former online casino operator. After being betrayed, the character enters the international poker circuit. The story then unfolds around high-stakes gambling, strategy, deception and revenge.

Chuseok is one of South Korea’s major holidays for spending time with family and relatives. As people have time off during the holiday, attendance at entertainment venues increases, which also affects the country’s cinema market.

This time, a significant portion of the increased audience went to ‘The Assassins’ and ‘Tazza 4’. One film centers on a historical political incident and an investigation, while the other follows a gambling- and revenge-driven story from a familiar franchise. Despite their different genres, both films established strong positions at the South Korean box office during the Chuseok holiday.

The fact that two locally produced films occupied the top two positions during the same weekend has been viewed as a notable development in South Korea’s film market.