[NC Box Office] Koo Kyo-hwan and Moon Ga-young’s Once We Were Us Holds Strong at No.1… Dark Horse Choir of God Secures No.2

Once We Were Us starring Koo Kyo-hwan and Moon Ga-young. Photo by Showbox.

The film Once We Were Us, starring Koo Kyo-hwan and Moon Ga-young, continued its dominant run at the top of the Korean box office.

According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated box office system on January 21, Once We Were Us attracted 43,773 viewers on January 20 alone, securing first place. Its cumulative audience has now reached 1,665,643.

Once We Were Us tells a realistic romance about Eun-ho (Koo Kyo-hwan) and Jeong-won (Moon Ga-young), former lovers who unexpectedly reunite after ten years and revisit the traces of their shared memories. Released on December 31, the film quickly gained strong word-of-mouth for its emotionally grounded storytelling and the two actors’ powerful performances. It surpassed 1 million admissions in just 12 days and reached its break-even point of 1.1 million viewers in 13 days.

The film Choir of God. Photo by Studio Target Co., Ltd.

Choir of God, starring Park Si-hoo and Jung Jin-woon, held onto second place with 24,077 admissions for the day. Its cumulative total has reached 484,146.

Choir of God depicts the story of a fabricated praise choir established in North Korea to earn foreign currency and the events that unfold around its creation.

In third place was Avatar: Fire and Ash, which drew 18,196 viewers on the day, bringing its cumulative audience to 6,416,856.

Avatar: Fire and Ash follows the Sully family after the death of their eldest son, Neteyam. As they struggle with grief, they face a new threat led by Varang and the Ash Clan, unfolding a massive crisis across a Pandora engulfed in fire and ash.

Heartman, starring Kwon Sang-woo and Moon Chae-won, ranked fourth with 12,143 admissions. Its cumulative total now stands at 182,101.

Heartman is a comedy about Seung-min (Kwon Sang-woo), a man who desperately tries not to lose his first love again after reuniting with her, only to find himself burdened with a secret he can never reveal.

Following closely, Zootopia 2 placed fifth with 8,350 viewers. Its cumulative audience has reached 8,456,702.

Zootopia 2 follows the return of the iconic duo Judy and Nick as they chase a mysterious snake named Gary who has thrown the city into chaos, diving into a new world and investigating a perilous case in a thrilling detective adventure.

Reported by News Culture [e-mail]