South Korean historical drama The King’s Warden has topped 10 million admissions at the local box office, making it the first film to reach the milestone in two years and cementing its blockbuster status.
The film had recorded 10.05 million admissions by the end of Friday (March 5) and has earned $65.1m since its release on February 4, according to Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council.
The 10 million landmark serves as the Korean film industry’s definitive marker of a smash hit – the equivalent of a Hollywood film joining the $1bn club – and a milestone that no feature achieved in 2025.
The last films to do so were Jang Jae-hyun’s supernatural thriller Exhuma in March 2024 and action crime feature The Roundup: Punishment, starring Ma Dong-seok (aka Don Lee), two months later in May.
Directed by Jang Hang-jun, The King’s Warden is set in 1457 during the Joseon Dynasty and tells the story of a village chief who takes in the deposed teenage King Danjong into his remote mountain village, unaware of the political turmoil and danger to follow.
It stars Yoo Hae-jin of Exhuma as the village chief and Park Ji-hoon – also known as a singer in boy band Wanna One – as the young king. Director Jang’s previous credits include 2002 action comedy Break Out and 2023 sports drama Rebound. Distributed by Showbox, the film is produced by Onda Works and B.A. Entertainment.
It is the 34th film to top 10 million admissions to date, of which 25 are Korean such as Parasite, The Roundup franchise and Train To Busan and nine are Hollywood titles including the Avengers, Avatar and Frozen franchises.
The top performing film by admissions remains 2014’s The Admiral: Roaring Currents, which eventually sold 17.6 million tickets.
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