[News Culture] Korean cinema is back at No. 1 for the first time in 50 days.
The Intern, starring Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee, opened with 61,038 admissions on Sept. 16, enough to end The Odyssey’s six-week lock on the Korean box office. Including previews, the film has drawn 82,566 moviegoers, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).
Directed by Kim Do-young, the Korean remake of the Hollywood film pairs Han with Choi in an unlikely workplace partnership. Han plays Sun-woo, the founder of a fashion company that has become an industry breakout in just three years, while Choi stars as Gi-ho, a veteran with 37 years of professional experience who arrives as the company’s senior intern.
The opening also marks the first time a Korean film has led the daily chart in 50 days, resetting a market that had been dominated by Hollywood releases for much of the summer.
The Odyssey finally surrendered the top spot after 42 consecutive days, slipping to second with 41,322 admissions. Christopher Nolan’s epic has now drawn 10,921,483 moviegoers in Korea.
Its run has already rewritten several benchmarks for imported films, including becoming the most-watched foreign release of the 2020s in Korea.
Written, directed and produced by Nolan, the film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, with Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Charlize Theron also in the cast.
Obsession moved to third with 23,902 admissions, raising its cumulative total to 548,655. The horror film follows a romance that takes a disturbing turn after a wish made to the mysterious One Wish Willow comes true.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day fell to fourth with 6,019 admissions and has now reached 8,952,757 in Korea.
The film picks up after Spider-Man: No Way Home, with Peter Parker confronting a new threat while struggling with powers altered by a DNA mutation.
The 20th-anniversary rerelease of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time entered the top five with 5,816 admissions, bringing its cumulative Korean audience to 117,481.
Mamoru Hosoda’s coming-of-age fantasy follows Makoto, a teenager who unexpectedly gains the ability to leap through time and gradually discovers that changing the past carries consequences for both herself and the people around her.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
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