[NC Box Office] Once We Were Us Holds No. 1 Amid New Releases, Passes 2.11 Million

Film Once We Were Us. Photo by Showbox.

Once We Were Us, starring Koo Kyo-hwan and Mun Ka-young, remained firmly at the top of the Korean box office despite a strong wave of new releases.

According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated box office data system on January 29, the film drew 47,907 moviegoers on January 28 alone, ranking No. 1 for the day. Its cumulative audience has now reached 2,114,266.

Once We Were Us follows Eun-ho (Koo Kyo-hwan) and Jung-won (Mun Ka-young), former lovers who reunite by chance after ten years and revisit the traces of their shared memories, portraying a deeply relatable romance grounded in reality. Since its release on December 31, the film has gained strong word of mouth for its powerful performances and emotionally resonant narrative, reaching its break-even point of 1.1 million admissions in just 13 days.

Choir of God, starring Park Si-hoo and Jung Jin-woon, ranked second with 29,566 admissions for the day, bringing its cumulative total to 761,348.

Choir of God depicts a story in which a fake praise choir is formed in North Korea to earn foreign currency, unfolding a tense narrative driven by deception and survival.

Film Send Help. Photo by Walt Disney Company Korea.

Send Help opened in third place on its first day, attracting 13,400 viewers. Its cumulative audience stands at 14,966.

Send Help is a survival thriller in which Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), a despised boss, and Linda (Rachel McAdams) become stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. Stripped of workplace hierarchy, the two are forced into a brutal power-reversal struggle for survival.

Avatar: Fire and Ash slipped to fourth place with 13,207 admissions for the day, raising its cumulative audience to 6,603,902.

Avatar: Fire and Ash centers on the Sully family as they face an even greater crisis on Pandora after the death of their eldest son Neteyam, when the Ash Clan led by Varang emerges and the world becomes engulfed in fire and ash.

Film Sister. Photo by Studio Santa Claus, CJ CGV.

Following closely, Sister, starring Jung Ji-so, Lee Soo-hyuk, and Cha Joo-young, debuted in fifth place with 11,182 viewers on its opening day. Its cumulative audience reached 12,648.

Sister is a kidnapping thriller that uncovers the hidden truth among Haeran (Jung Ji-so), who abducts her own sister for ransom, Taesu (Lee Soo-hyuk), who masterminds the plan, and Sojin (Cha Joo-young), the hostage who fights desperately to escape.

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