Local Remake 'The Intern' Tops South Korean Weekend
The South Korean remake of 'The Intern' led weekend ticket sales, while Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' remained the highest-grossing film.
The South Korean comedy-drama remake 'The Intern' debuted at the top of the local box office in admissions for the weekend of September 18-20. However, Christopher Nolan's epic 'The Odyssey' retained the overall revenue crown, generating more money.
According to data from KOBIS, operated by the Korean Film Council, 'The Intern' earned $1.9 million from 275,183 admissions across 1,428 screens. This gave it a 26% share of the weekend admissions market. In contrast, 'The Odyssey' generated a weekend-high $2.3 million but placed second in admissions with 256,789 tickets sold across 1,253 screens, capturing 30.7% of total box office revenue.
Top Performers Detailed
Directed by Kim Do-young, the Warner Bros. Korea adaptation stars Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee. It follows a 70-year-old retired executive who becomes a senior intern at a fast-paced fashion startup. Since its wide release on September 16, the film has drawn 403,903 total admissions for a cumulative gross of $2.8 million.
'The Odyssey' saw its local gross climb to $91.1 million from over 11.2 million ticket buyers since its August 5 launch.
Weekend Box Office Rankings
The source provided comparable figures for the top films. The data below shows weekend gross, admissions, screen count, and market share where specified.
| Film | Weekend Gross | Admissions | Screens | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Intern | $1.9 million | 275,183 | 1,428 | 26% (admissions) |
| The Odyssey | $2.3 million | 256,789 | 1,253 | 30.7% (revenue) |
| Obsession | $1 million | 131,467 | 762 | 13.6% |
| Resident Evil | $623,228 | 80,779 | 679 | Not specified |
| Spider-Man: Brand New Day | $214,082 | 33,636 | 540 | 2.8% |
Other Notable Releases
In third place, 'Obsession' earned $1 million in its third weekend, lifting its cumulative total to $5.4 million. The newly released horror film 'Resident Evil' opened in fourth place, pulling in $623,228 and accumulating $783,336 since its September 17 premiere.
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' placed fifth in its eighth weekend, bringing its total gross to $67.1 million. Anime feature 'Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island' landed in sixth from preview screenings, grossing $199,794 ahead of its wide September 30 release.
Mamoru Hosoda's 2006 classic 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' took seventh place via a 20th-anniversary re-release. The double-feature anime re-release 'Digimon Adventure & Digimon Adventure: Our War Game!' opened in eighth. 'The Drama' finished ninth, while the gambling crime thriller 'Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub' rounded out the top ten from previews ahead of its September 23 wide release.
