Hope stormed to the top of the South Korean box office on its opening day, delivering the strongest debut of 2026 and setting a new career-best opening for director Na Hong-jin.
According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), Hope sold 333,918 tickets on July 15, finishing comfortably at No. 1. Including preview screenings, its cumulative admissions reached 351,276.
The opening surpassed the first-day performances of Na's previous films—The Chaser (113,673), The Yellow Sea (120,482) and The Wailing (310,042)—while also overtaking Colony's 199,762 admissions, previously the biggest opening of the year.
The film also edged past the opening-day figure posted by Exhuma, one of Korea's biggest recent box office successes, underscoring the scale of audience anticipation surrounding Na's first feature in a decade.
Set near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, Hope follows local police chief Beom-seok after reports of a tiger sighting trigger an escalating crisis that soon reveals an unimaginable reality. The film stars Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon.
Animated feature Minions & Monsters opened in second place with 31,728 admissions, reaching 35,565 admissions including previews.
The family adventure follows aspiring filmmakers James, Henry and Ed—three Minions hoping to become blockbuster directors—as they set off in search of legendary monsters.
Moana slipped to third with 13,025 admissions, bringing its cumulative total to 579,541.
The Eyes, starring Shin Min-a, ranked fourth with 11,859 admissions, lifting its cumulative admissions to 1,338,905.
Toy Story 5 rounded out the top five after drawing 8,518 moviegoers. The Disney-Pixar sequel has now amassed 2,623,712 admissions.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
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