Local titles topped Hollywood tentpoles at the South Korea box office over the weekend with superhero feature Hi-Five ending a successful run at the top for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
Hi-Five took $2.6m from 380,330 admissions from May 30 to June 1, according to Kobis, the Korean Film Council’s box office tracking service. With previews, it now has a cume of $2.7m from 395,500 admissions.
After two weeks on top, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning added $2.66m from 370,876 for a total of $17.75m and 2.47 million admissions since its May 17 release. Although it took more revenue, Kobis ranks by admissions and so places Hi-Five at number one. This was despite Hi-Five playing on fewer screens than the latest in the Tom Cruise franchise: 1,211 for Hi-Five and 1,374 for Mission: Impossible.
The eighth instalment of the Mission: Impossible series ranks as the third highest-grossing title in South Korea this year to date, only behind Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 ($21.5m) and local thriller Yadang: The Snitch ($23.1m).
Hi-Five is directed by Kang Hyoung-chul and follows five ordinary people who develop superpowers after receiving organ transplants. The cast includes Yoo Ah-in, recently seen in sports drama The Match, which also proved a box office hit when released at the end of March. Yoo was previously involved in a drug scandal that reportedly delayed the release of both these titles. Hi-Five has been picked up for distribution in North America and across Asia through sales agent Contents Panda.
A further local title edged out Disney tentpole Lilo & Stitch. Drama Big Deal opened in third place with $930,000 from 131,626 admissions. Directed by Choi Yun-jin, the story follows a confrontation between Korea’s leading soju company, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, and a global investor that targets the firm.
The live-action version of Lilo & Stitch added $644,054 from 93,569 admissions for a cume of $2.2m (321,770 admissions) since opening in the territory on May 21.
Magic Candies, a Japanese animation inspired by a Korean picture book, ranked fifth with $89,000 from 24,538 admissions.
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