In the latest South Korean box office report, the concert film “Lim Young Woong IM HERO The Stadium” emerged as the top-grossing film over the weekend, outperforming both the narrative film “Alien: Romulus” and the comedy “Pilot.”
According to data from Kobis, the Korean Film Council’s tracking service, “IM HERO” earned $1.89 million between Friday and Sunday, bringing its five-day opening total to $3.47 million. In comparison, “Alien: Romulus” earned $1.66 million during its third weekend, accumulating a 19-day total of $12.5 million. Despite its higher total revenue, “Alien: Romulus” was surpassed by “IM HERO” in spectator numbers, with the latter selling 87,000 tickets to the former’s 223,000. The disparity is attributed to the concert film’s higher ticket prices.
The film features Lim Young-woong, a popular ballad and trot singer who gained fame through a 2020 TV talent show. Known for his wholesome image and dedicated fan base, Lim’s film showcases performances from his May concerts at Seoul World Cup Stadium, interspersed with documentary footage of the preparations and behind-the-scenes moments. Over its opening frame, the film attracted around 161,000 viewers, surpassing the attendance of the live concerts.
In other box office highlights, the comedy “Pilot” earned $906,000 in its fifth weekend, placing it third in revenue, although it was second in ticket sales. Since its release on July 31, it has amassed $31 million and 4.51 million tickets sold, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of the year.
The disaster film “Twisters” earned $555,000 in its third weekend, bringing its total to $4.32 million, placing it fourth by revenue. Korean animation “Heartsping: Teenieping of Love” fell to fifth place, earning $511,000 over the weekend and accumulating $5.98 million in four weeks.
Korean horror-thriller “Spring Garden” came in sixth with $500,000, totaling $2.37 million after 12 days. The re-release of Derek Tsang’s “Better Days” earned $343,000, landing in seventh place. The cheerleading film “Victory” earned $319,000, with a cumulative total of $2.58 million.
Political thriller “Land of Happiness” secured ninth place with $186,000, reaching a three-week total of $4.77 million. The drama “Because I Hate Korea,” which premiered at last year’s Busan International Film Festival, opened in tenth place with $131,000 over the weekend and $260,000 in total.
The weekend’s overall box office was $7.97 million, reflecting a 15% decrease compared to the previous week. The August box office tally reached KRW117 million ($87.4 million), down 19% from August 2023, continuing a trend of declining figures in the post-COVID era.
