Korea Box Office: ‘John Wick 4’ Maintains Lead on Slowest Weekend of the Year

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Bruce Berman, a senior executive who was previously chairman and CEO of Los Angeles-based Village Roadshow Pictures, has come out of retirement to board the recently-founded film studio Through the Lens Entertainment. The company, founded by producer Aditya Chand, is headquartered in Singapore with operations in the U.S. and Japan. It aims to combine the opportunities of the East and the power and experience of the studio systems in the West, “to offer a new studio ecosystem out of Asia, that is built for the digital age.” Two film projects are already underway and a third with “Slumdog Millionaire” star Frieda Pinto is in development.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Prime Video has set May 18 for the global release of its upcoming Indian anthology series “Modern Love Chennai.” This is the third Indian adaptation of “Modern Love,” the internationally acclaimed original anthology directed by John Carney, following “Modern Love Mumbai” and “Modern Love Hyderabad.” Produced under the banner of Tyler Durden and Kino Fist, with Thiagarajan Kumararaja as the creator, the six-episode anthology presents a bouquet of love stories set in the city of Chennai that explore relationships, push boundaries, and open minds.  “Love stories and rom-coms have never been my cup of tea. Thus, ‘Modern Love Chennai’ was an interesting challenge,” said Kumararaja, creator of the series and writer-director of one of the episodes. “With these stories, we have explored and celebrated the old-world charm of the city, which remains rooted in a distinct blend of tradition and modernity.” 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” gave the South Korean box office its biggest weekend of the year, with a $10.3 million start. The film played on more than 1,800 screens and enjoyed a 46% share of the overall market between Friday and Sunday, according to data supplied by Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. After a year of struggle for the theatrical business in Korea, the opening by “Guardians” was twice that of “The Super Mario Bros Movie” and nearly four times bigger than the next biggest individual title debut of 2023 (“The First Slam Dunk” in the first week of January scored $2.61 million). Over its opening five days, “Guardians” managed $13.2 million, making it the seventh highest grossing film of the year at the end of its first weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hybe Corp., the structure behind K-pop icons BTS, enjoyed strong financial performance during the first three months of the year. The results were achieved despite BTS’s effective hiatus and quarter of corporate skirmishing in the Korean music sector. The company Tuesday reported revenues of KRW411 billion in the three months to end of March and operating profit of KRW52.5 billion, increases of 42$ and 44%, respectively. Adjusted earnings before interest taxation, depreciation and amortization were up 12% at KRW71.9 billion. Hybe did not confirm financial media calculations that it would net an investment profit of some $87 million on the sale of shares in SM Entertainment, which it bid to control but lost to Kakao.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Malaysian social drama “Abang Adik” was named best film and winner of the Golden Mulberry prize on Sunday at the Far East Film Festival in Italy’s Udine. The film is a story of two undocumented and orphaned men, who may or may not be real brothers, but who lift each other up. The film’s director Jin Ong collected the White Mulberry prize for best debut feature and “Abang Adik” added a third prize decided by the festival’s season pass holders. Second place on the podium went to South Korea with Chang Hang-jun’s “Rebound,” while third place went to “Yudo,” by Japan’s Suzuki Masayuki. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Super Mario Bros Movie” and a local sports movie “Dream” gave the South Korean box office some bounce on their first weekend on release. Opening in Korea on Wednesday, some three weeks after the beginning of its international and North American campaigns, “Super Mario” earned $4.67 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). The film has a cumulative of $5.76 million over its opening five days, plus previews. The film’s weekend numbers are the second highest opening tally recorded by any film this year in Korea. And its weekend score represented a comfortable 40% market share.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Global streaming giant Netflix has publicly committed to spending $2.5 billion (approx. KRW3.34 trillion) on South Korean film and TV production over the next four years. The total is double the amount it has spent in Korea since 2016, the company said. The promise was made by Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, at a meeting in Washington DC with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. “We were able to make this decision because we have great confidence that the Korean creative industry will continue to tell great stories. We were also inspired by the President’s love and strong support for the Korean entertainment industry and fueling the Korean wave. I’d like to personally thank the President for his kind response letter,” Sarandos said in a statement.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The highly-anticipated Japanese animated feature film “The First Slam Dunk” dominated the mainland China cinema box office in its opening weekend. It broke multiple records as it did so. The film scored $38.5 million (RMB266 million) over the Friday to Sunday weekend, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. However, it opened on Thursday, a day earlier than is the norm in China, and has accumulated $55.2 million over the opening four-day frame. The film is based on IP that is well-known to a generation of comic book fans and TV audiences in China (early middle-aged men were reported to have been particularly interested) and has already proved a hit in other parts of Asia. (Comscore estimates that the film has grossed $211 million worldwide.)

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.Since its opening on April 5, it has earned over $400 million nationwide, the second-fastest animated film to reach those numbers after “The Incredibles 2,” according to Deadline. The supernatural horror movie “Evil Dead Rise,” the fifth installment of the “Evil Dead” series, came in second, with a $10.3-million take on its opening day.The Post called the film “gory-as-hell” and said it is “as campy and fun as any chapter in producer Sam Raimi’s four-decade-old horror series.”“The Covenant,” the story of an army sergeant in Afghanistan, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, and an Afghani interpreter, played by Danish actor Dar Salim, landed in third, with $2.25 million in sales.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese animated film “The First Slam Dunk” has taken a strong early lead at the mainland China box office, picking up $13.8 million on its Thursday opening day. Films mostly release in China on Fridays, but the Japanese hit was given previews on Wednesday and a full court release on Thursday, starting with widespread midnight screenings. Data from local firm Ent Group reveals that the film earned $3.16 million from some 14,000 preview screenings on Wednesday, followed by $13.8 million on Thursday from 184,000 screening sessions. That gives it a $17 million cumulative and positions it at the top of the box office chart even before the conventional Friday to Sunday weekend begins.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Jung Ho-seok, better known as J-Hope, Tuesday became the second member of K-pop sensation BTS to join the Korean military. Approaching his 30th birthday, J-Hope attended an army camp at Wongju, south of Seoul, and is expected to begin five weeks of basic training there. Local news agencies reported a small crowd of fans, seemingly outnumbered by assembled journalists, waited outside the camp to wish him well. Their number was reported to be diminished by bad weather. Earlier, J-Hope had posted on the Weverse fandom platform words of encouragement and a pair of photos revealing his newly-shorn hair. “I love you all. ARMY, I will return safely,” he wrote. ‘Army’ in that sense is a reference to BTS’s legion of fans, rather than the Korean military services.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The battle for corporate dominance of K-Pop has become a drama that never stops giving. After the acrimonious takeover battle between BTS-backer Hybe Corp. and tech giant Kakao for control of SM Entertainment, Korea’s financial regulators are probing the deal-making that eventually led to Kakao’s victory. Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service raided the offices of SM Entertainment on Tuesday, according to the Yonhap news agency. Investigators were looking for evidence of stock price manipulation between February and March when the two camps were skirmishing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading indie sales agent Finecut has picked up international rights to “In Our Day” by idiosyncratic South Korean director Hong Sang-soo. The film is set as the closing title of the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar of the Cannes festival. Hong, who works on low budgets, controls much of the production process and makes repeated use of a small pool of actors, is one of the most prolific feature directors in the world. This is already his second feature this year. His earlier, “In Water” played in the Encounters section at Berlin in February His films are known for their minimalist style, a focus on female characters, serial chance encounters and oblique references to the media industry. On paper, “In Our Day” fits exactly in that groove.

Ed Meza @edmezavar CJ ENM Sells Remake Rights to hit Korean Drama ‘Train’ to Firebrand Studios The U.K.’s Firebird Studios has acquired remake rights for hit Korean drama “Train” from entertainment giant CJ ENM. “Train” follows a detective investigating his love’s death who discovers a parallel universe, where his late partner is very much alive. Moving back and forth between the two worlds, he tracks down the truth behind her death in one, while protecting her in the other. “With two unforgettable central characters, ‘Train’ is a love story, a detective show, a journey across the multiverse,” said Firebird Pictures CEO Elizabeth Kilgariff. It’s “a story that defies expectations at every turn and one that we can’t wait to re-tell in a British setting.”

Universal Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” already broke the animation record for the largest second weekend ever earned at the box office, but after a better-than-expected Sunday, that weekend total has pushed even further to $92.5 million.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Jackie Chan-starring nostalgic stuntman comedy film “Ride On” trotted to a second weekend atop the mainland Chinese box office. “The Super Mario” Bros. Movie” remained in fourth place. “Ride On” earned $6.0 million (RMB41.5 million) between Friday and Sunday, a 48% week-on week drop, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That took it to a $22.6 million total since release on April 7. Below it, Japanese animation “Suzume” and Chinese shaggy dog story “Hachiko” swapped places. “Hachiko,” on its third weekend outing, earned $4.9 million, for a cumulative of $35.1 million. “Suzume” earned $4.5 million in its fourth weekend on release in China, giving it a $109 million cumulative.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “John Wick: Chapter 4” easily outgunned Japanese animation film Suzume to claim top spot at the South Korean box office over the latest weekend. The American action title earned $4.05 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That represented a nearly 50% market share, continuing a polarization or clustering around a single title that has become familiar of late in Korea, a market that formerly had greater diversity and width. Over the five days since its Wednesday opening, “John Wick 4” earned $5.87 million.

After passing $500M globally through Thursday, Illumination/Nintendo/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros Movie is now on its way to an estimated $659M through Sunday worldwide. Of that, the international box office is estimated to rep $318.6M. 

There is absolutely no stopping “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” At a time when many blockbusters in the post-shutdown box office are taking drops of over 60% in their second weekend, the Universal/Illumination animated film is dropping just 45% for an Illumination record $80 million in its second weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Is it time for South Korea’s TV drama series to move over and make way for Korean unscripted entertainment — namely game shows and reality shows? While 2003 drama series “Jewel in the Palace,” or the more recent “Crash Landing on You,” “Memories of the Alhambra,” “Mr. Queen,” “Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce)” and “Descendants of the Sun” have for years successfully tugged at emotional heartstrings across Asia, the unscripted category has equally long been a staple of Korean domestic TV. Korean variety shows have been a catch-all with multi-generational appeal. Talent contests have worked well in the home market, but often were too quirky — too much dialogue, or distracting titles flashing across the screen — which meant that they were best exported as formats rather than finished shows.