Strong Debut for ‘Hansan’ Propels Korea Box Office to Best Month of the Year

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The Japanese animated adventure film is expected to take in $21 million during its first weekend in theaters, according to Variety.The Idris Elba-led “Beast,” roared into second place, earning close to $4.3 million in sales in its debut. A survival story of a family who gets stalked by a lion in South Africa, the movie “makes you miss ‘Anaconda,'” The Post quipped.“Bullet Train” slowed down to third place after spending two weeks in the No.

Jordan Moreau With no major movies on the horizon, the summer slowdown as continued at the box office. Universal’s action movie “Beast,” starring Idris Elba,” picked up just $925,000 in Thursday previews after launching in 2,900 theaters.

EXO member Xiumin will release his debut solo record in September.On August 18, South Korean media outlet News1 published a report claiming Xiumin will debut as a soloist next month with an album. The news was later confirmed through a statement from the K-pop idol’s label, SM Entertainment, via Mydaily.

BTS be granted an alternative to – but not an exemption from – the country’s military service mandate.Mayor Park Heong-joon recently made a formal proposal requesting the presidential office  consider granting the K-pop group an alternative form of mandatory military service that is currently available to athletes and artists who have “helped elevate national prestige or cultural advancement”, said officials on August 18, per Yonhap News Agency.The mayor cited BTS’ roles as ambassadors for Busan’s bid to host the World City Expo in 2030 as a reason for his proposal. According to Yonhap News Agency, Park expects an “aggressive promotional drive” by BTS would grant the city a competitive edge amid an “increasingly fierce” competition to host the 2030 Expo.“I do not mean to give BTS the privilege of exemption from military service.

Two wide studio releases will hopefully prevent this summer from reaching another low at the box office after last weekend’s $67.3M. If there’s one movie that’s going to pull ahead, sources are betting on Crunchyroll’s Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. That distributor has proven in a short amount of time that they can draw a great deal of anime fans in a Friday through Sunday span. The Tetsuro Kodama directed animation movie is looking at anywhere from $12M-$15M, ahead of Universal’s genre lion-stalking film, Beast, starring Idris Elba; that pic hoping for at least double digits.

Hunt will get a US theatrical release in December.On August 15, Deadline reported that film distributor Magnolia Pictures has acquired US rights to the South Korean film Hunt and is currently planning a December theatrical release.The spy-action film notably marks the directorial debut of veteran actor Lee Jung-jae, who gained significant international recognition for his role in Netflix’s 2021 hit series Squid Game. He also wrote the screenplay for Hunt, which is set in the ’80s at the height of South Korea’s military dictatorship.Lee also stars in the film alongside with Jung Woo-sung as intelligence agents tasked with hunting down a North Korean spy embedded in their agency.

“Hunt” premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Midnight section and follows two Korean Central Intelligence agents tasked with finding a mole within the agency and who uncover a plot to assassinate the country’s president. Jung-jae directed, wrote and produced the movie and stars alongside “Squid Game” co-star Heo Sung-tae.

EXCLUSIVE: Magnolia Pictures has snapped up domestic rights to Hunt, the feature directorial from Squid Game Emmy nominated star Lee Jung-jae, which made its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Midnight section.

Sony’s Bullet Train was the global and international box office leader for the studios during its sophomore frame with an added $17M from 61 overseas markets for an offshore cume of $60M and global riding the rails past $100M for $114.5M through Sunday.

The beloved K-Pop group SEVENTEEN is currently touring the world and you can check out their setlist right here!

Decision To Leave has been selected to represent South Korea in the Best International Feature Film category for the upcoming Oscars.Deadline reported that the Korean Film Council announced its pick yesterday (August 11), sharing it took into consideration “workmanship and directing ability, the possibility of box office success in the North American market, and the promotion ability of overseas distributors”. As a result, the council agreed that Decision To Leave was “the most appropriate choice, and we expect the work to be well-received”.Starring South Korean actor Park Hae-il (The King’s Letters) and Chinese star Tang Wei (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), Decision To Leave is a slow-burn mystery romance about a police detective who gets dispatched to a scene of a man’s death.

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based company Indie Sales has sold Angry Annie, French director Blandine Lenoir’s latest feature, to a host of key territories ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival on Thursday.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Emergency Declaration,” a timely Korean-made action thriller, flew to an opening weekend of $6.5 million. But it was old-fashioned naval actioner “Hansan: Rising Dragon” that stayed afloat at the top of the South Korean box office for a second week.“Hansan,” a sequel to a 2014 record breaker, earned $9.18 million from over 1,600 screens, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Refresh for latest…: Coming in just slightly ahead of pre-weekend projections, Sony’s Bullet Train pulled into 57 overseas markets for a $32.4M international box office launch. When including the domestic start, the global debut is $62.5M.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Bullet Train,” a John Wick-ian romp with Brad Pitt in the aisle seat, arrived in theaters with a $30.1 million opening weekend. That’s enough to top the domestic box office chart, but it’s only a so-so result given “Bullet Train’s” $90 million price tag and Pitt’s star power.

Paramount+ is performing “above expectations”  in the UK, Ireland and South Korea, according to Bob Bakish, who forecast a “big year” for Western Europe to come and talked up local language content.

CLC rapper Yeeun has revealed plans to make her solo debut sometime “this year”.The K-pop idol recently hosted a Q&A session on her personal Instagram page, during which she was asked by fans about her future plans in music. In response to one fan, she wrote, “I can’t tell you much yet, but I have to start fresh, right?”In response to a separate question asking when she plans to make her solo debut, Yeeun simply responded by writing “this year”.

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae has re-edited an international version of his upcoming directorial debut Hunt to suit a global audience.South Korean media outlet Yonhap News Agency reported on August 3 that Lee had revised several key lines and scenes in the film following its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in order to contextualise the film’s political setting for global audiences.An international version of Hunt will now see the addition of further elaboration of South Korean politics in the ’80s. “When writing the script of Hunt, I set younger generations in South Korea who learn about the era from history textbooks as the target audience.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefLee Jung-jae, the Korean actor who has received an Emmy nomination for his role in Netflix hit series “Squid Game,” has re-edited “Hunt,” the film that marked his feature directorial debut. The new version will play at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.“Hunt,” a 1980s-set espionage thriller about rival agents from North and South Korea, had its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

EXCLUSIVE: North America is getting its latest free streaming service later this month. Mometu, which is marketing itself as a “hand curated” on-demand live streaming platform, will launch on August 19 and has secured free streaming rights to South Korean feature The Policeman’s Lineage.