Action-comedy film 'The Roundup: No Way Out' garners more than 4.5 mln viewers

[Courtesy of ABO Entertainment]

SEOUL -- "The Roundup: No Way Out" has swept over the South Korean box office with an accumulated 4.5 million admissions only five days after its release. In the action film, Ma Dong-seok, an action film actor also known by the English name of Don Lee, plays a tough detective who investigates a drug crime involving Yakuza, a crime group that originated in Japan.
 
Data released by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) on June 5 showed that the film attracted 4,512,386 moviegoers. As of May 31, the film's release date, more than one million people watched the movie, including about 480,000 who attended the charged preview. The movie is the sequel to the 2017 hit "The Outlaws," which gained some 6.8 million viewers, and the 2022 film "The Roundup" which had more than 12.6 million admissions.
 
In the third installment, Don Lee showcases boxing techniques against villains. The 51-year-old said he previously practiced boxing to become a professional boxer but took a break due to a shoulder injury. South Korean actor Lee Joon-hyuk was chosen to play the film's primary antagonist, and Japanese actor Munetaka Aoki will portray a Japanese gangster.
 
Don Lee has played various aggressive roles in South Korea's film scenes. The actor who obtained U.S. citizenship after immigrating to the United States in 1989 has also worked as a trainer for two UFC fighters -- Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. The celebrity who appeared in more than 50 films made his Hollywood debut in 2019 through a 2021 superhero film "Eternals."