Korean cinemas were besieged by a raft of new releases, but it was not the predicted winner that took the spot. Beating Blade II, was CJ Entertainment's unlikely blockbuster The Way Home. It also had a mighty impressive two-day screen average of $13,700.

It is the story of a seven-year old boy who goes to live with his grandmother in the country. But it confirms the status director Lee Jeong-hyang, who is the only Korean female director to have done really well at the box-office. Her first film Art Museum By The Zoo was a hit, too, but back in 1998 she had major star power going for her.

The Way Home-Blade II duo pushed out The Time Machine and local hit Sympathy For Mr Vengeance, which opened the previous week and occupied the top spots for only a week. In a chart full of change one enduring feature was A Beautiful Mind, which saw its takings halve, but the film only dropped from sixth to eighth position.

Rank (last wk) Title (origin) Distrib 2-day admissions 2-day $-gross Scrns

1 (-) The Way Home (S Korea), CJ Entertainment 187,000 $438,000 32

2 (-) Blade II (US), Cineworld 179,136 $398,000 47

3 (1) The Time Machine (US), Warner Bros 2 43,200 $217,000 33

4 (2) Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (S Korea), CJ Ent 2 26,500 $133,000 32

5 (-) E.T: The Extra Terrestrial (US), UIP 1 25,950 $131,000 26

6 (3) Jungle Juice (S Korea), Big Blue Film 3 21,428 $108,000 19

7 (-) Battle Royale (Japan), Dong-A Entertainment 1 18,969 $95,000 16

8 (6) A Beautiful Mind (US), CJ Entertainment 7 7,500 $38,000 4

9 (-) Dragonfly (US), BVI 1 6,100 $31,000 9

10 (4) Turning Gate (S Korea), Cinema Service 3 5,684 $29,000 6

Source: Korean Association of Film Art & Industry (KAFAI)