Hollywood Trio Lift Korea Box Office to Biggest Weekend of 2021
Patrick Frater, provided by
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South Korea enjoyed its biggest weekend box office of 2021 propelled, unusually, by a trio of Hollywood titles. “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” topped the chart with a $2.68 million haul, ahead of “Cruella” and “F9.”
Aggregate national box office for the three days from Friday to Sunday was $7.12 million, according to data from the Korean Film Council’s Kobis tracking system. That was a 10% improvement on the previous two weekends, when “F9” had given a turbo charge to takings.
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For much of the early part of the year weekend grosses had been stuck in the $2.5 million to $4 million range. That reflected ongoing hesitation on the part of audiences after second and third waves of the coronavirus had caused new restrictions on social life.
Powerful F9 Debut Injects Horsepower Into Korean Box Office
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South Korea claimed to have had the honor of being the first country in the world where “F9” revved into commercial release – the distinction can only have been a matter of hours, as Hong Kong cinemas followed later the same day, on May 19 – and it proved a smart choice. The franchise film finally injected some horsepower into the Korean box office, with a tap on the accelerator from Korean-American star Kang Sung back for a fourth lap.
“F9” earned 5.53 million over the weekend and $$9.83 million over its opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the box office tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Its five-day-total, means “F9” has already overtaken “Minari” to become the third biggest film of the year at the Korean box office.