Japanese animated feature “Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island” won the South Korean box office over the Oct. 9–11 weekend, beating the political thriller “The Assassin(s)” by 215 tickets.
The Toho-distributed film drew 407,895 admissions and $3.13 million from 1,067 screens, taking 29.7 percent of the weekend market, according to the Korean Film Council’s tracking system. “The Assassin(s)” sold 407,680 tickets on 1,312 screens for $3.03 million, a 28.78 percent share. The three-day frame included the Hangul Day holiday.
“Chiikawa” has now earned $9.9 million and 1.28 million admissions since opening Sept. 30. It trailed “The Assassin(s)” by roughly 6,000 admissions on its opening weekend, then overtook it in its second. Director Kei Oikawa adapts Nagano’s popular manga, following the title character and friends who travel to a remote island for a lucrative job and uncover a supernatural threat. Local press credits the film’s pull among younger viewers, helped by K-pop-style marketing.
The loss ends a two-week reign for Hur Jin-ho’s drama, which has grossed $21.8 million from nearly 3 million admissions since its Sept. 23 release. Yu Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho play investigators who question the official account of the 1974 attempt on President Park Chung-hee’s life, which killed First Lady Yuk Young-soo.
Politics has trailed the film since release. Protesters gathered outside Yu’s home, and cast members pulled out of promotional appearances at the Busan International Film Festival. Nineteen Korean film guilds issued a joint statement defending freedom of expression. Ticket sales have held up, with the film on the verge of 3 million admissions and ranking among the year’s top Korean releases.
The overall market softened. Weekend receipts reached $10.5 million, down from $12.6 million a week earlier and well short of the $19.6 million holiday high two weekends ago.
“The Assassin(s)” holds a large lead on cumulative sales, but “Chiikawa” has the momentum, ranking first on weekend admissions for the first time.
