[NC Box Office]Once We Were Us rides word of mouth to a box office comeback, surpasses 2 million admissions

Film Once We Were Us. Photo by Showbox.

Once We Were Us, starring Koo Kyo-hwan and Moon Ga-young, has dominated the weekend box office and officially surpassed the 2 million admissions mark.

According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated box office database on January 26, the film attracted 96,269 viewers on January 25 alone, securing first place at the daily box office. Its cumulative audience reached 2,001,034. Over the three-day weekend from January 23 to 25, the film drew a total of 254,300 moviegoers.

Once We Were Us. Photo by Showbox.

Once We Were Us portrays a realistic romance in which Eun-ho (Koo Kyo-hwan) and Jung-won (Moon Ga-young), who once shared an intense love, reunite by chance after ten years and revisit the traces of their memories. Released on December 31, the film quickly gained momentum through strong word of mouth driven by the actors’ powerful performances and its emotionally resonant storytelling. It reached one million admissions in just 12 days and achieved break-even (1.1 million viewers) on its 13th day.

The film has now surpassed the record of Decision to Leave, which attracted 1.91 million viewers in 2022, and has become the highest-grossing Korean romance film since Crazy Romance in 2019. Beginning in its second weekend, it staged a dramatic comeback to claim the No.1 spot at the box office. Powered by sustained audience enthusiasm, it has topped the weekend box office for three consecutive weeks and has held the No.1 position for 15 straight days overall.

Film Choir of God poster. Photo by Studio Target

Choir of God, starring Park Si-hoo and Jung Jin-woon, ranked second after attracting 71,088 viewers in a single day. Its cumulative audience now stands at 683,431.

The film tells the story of a fake praise choir formed in North Korea as part of a foreign currency–earning scheme, unfolding a tense and unconventional narrative.

Third place went to Avatar: Fire and Ash, which drew 44,828 viewers in one day and reached a cumulative total of 6,564,851 admissions.

Avatar: Fire and Ash depicts a new crisis on Pandora, where the Ash Clan led by Varang emerges before the Sully family, who are still grieving the death of their first son Neteyam, plunging the world into a conflict of fire and ash.

In fourth place was The Haunted House: 10th Anniversary Movie – One More Summon, which attracted 27,909 viewers, bringing its total audience to 245,162.

The film follows world-famous goblin Shinbi and 20-year-old Hari as they battle the resurrected underground villain to save the world in a large-scale fantasy adventure.

Fifth place went to Project Y, starring Han So-hee and Jeon Jong-seo. It drew 21,462 viewers in one day and has accumulated 101,882 admissions in total.

Project Y tells the story of Mi-seon (Han So-hee) and Do-kyung (Jeon Jong-seo), who dream of a different tomorrow in the heart of a glamorous city and find themselves stealing black money and gold bars at the edge of their lives.

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