Chiikawa takes almost half of South Korea’s weekend cinema revenue
Chiikawa the Movie led South Korea’s cinema weekend of 23–25 October, earning $2.5 million and taking 44.7% of ticket revenue. The Japanese animation drew more than 320,000 viewers as the national market declined. The Assassin(s) stayed second, while Yeon Sang-ho’s Paradise Lost began its run in third place with a story about a missing son.
Arts··Midday
Chiikawa leads a smaller weekend market
South Korean cinemas took $5.6 million over 23–25 October, down from $6.7 million the previous weekend. Within that smaller market, Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island remained the leading attraction. Both Variety and SBS report the Japanese animation at the top of the weekend chart. Variety’s figures from KOBIS, the Korean Film Council’s tracking service, put its revenue at $2.5 million and its share at 44.7%. More than 320,000 people watched it during the three days. Kei Oikawa directed the adaptation of Nagano’s manga, in which the small protagonist and companions visit a coastal island and encounter a disturbing mystery.[1], [2]
The closest competitors trail the animation
Chiikawa has earned $17.5 million since its September 30 release, according to Variety. Its audience has passed 2.24 million. Hur Jin-ho’s The Assassin(s) held second place with 68,241 weekend admissions and $520,822. The political thriller’s cumulative audience reached 3,374,517 and its revenue $25 million. Paradise Lost, directed and co-written by Yeon Sang-ho, entered in third place after opening locally on October 21. It earned $502,962 from 66,699 admissions across 803 screens. Kim Hyun-joo and Bae Hyun-sung star in the story of a mother seeking her missing son within a closed religious community; the film had its world premiere in Toronto.[1]
New releases fill out the weekend chart
Other releases occupied the remaining positions behind the leading three. Clayface began in fourth place with 48,245 admissions and $388,947. Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub ranked fifth, attracting 46,919 viewers and with cumulative attendance of 1,999,477. Song Il-gon’s Still Shining opened sixth. Kim Hye-ja and Cha Mi-kyung play two women connected by a lifelong promise in that period drama. Together, the chart placed the returning Japanese animation ahead of both established local releases and the new arrivals. The national revenue comparison covers 23–25 October rather than the films’ cumulative runs.[1]
