Korean Weekend Box Office (2011.02.18~2011.02.20)

Lee Kyoo-man’s Children... has stolen the top spot in the charts this week. The “frog boys” story has gathered momentum and has seen its ticket sales jump to 520,266 from last weeks’ 79,674. This is definitely one I want to catch and the Korean moviegoers are just as intrigued by Lee’s take on this true story.

At number two is Late Autumn. This film is a co-production between South Korea, Hong Kong, China, and the United States. Set in Seattle, the film stars the popular Hyeon Bin (who just arrived back from the Berlin Film Festival) and the beautiful Tang Wei, an equally famous Chinese actress. Detective K has finally surrendered its position at the top of the charts but is still seeing a more than healthy number of admissions. Korean films are dominating the top three this week and will probably continue to do so with more big Korean films on the way. Disney’s Tangled has had a small drop in ticket sales but given the introduction of the above films, it will have to be content at number four. The film brings us the classic Disney style we all know and love.

Jaume Collet-Serra’s Unknown follows. It may not be able to boast having the most original premise, but know that Liam Neeson always puts in a solid performance. He plays a man who wakes up from a four-year coma only to find that the life he left behind has seemingly forgotten him. The suspense thriller also stars January Jones, Frinak Langella, Aidan Quin and Bruno Ganz. Late Blossom has also seen a dramatic jump in its viewership, as large crowds have found their way to the cinemas this past week. Choo Chang-min’s heart warmer is getting some love from audiences this week. Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours has over 123,000 admissions in Korea thus far—it finds itself up two places from last week.

Bringing up the rear this week is Sanctum, My Home (あたしンち), and the romantic comedy No Strings Attached. Alister Grierson’s Sanctum has dropped from third to eighth this past week. The film has been receiving relatively poor reviews, and despite its impressive 3D showcasing, the film might not been able to make an appearance in next week’s chart. The Japanese comedy manga My Home is at number nine with just over 33,000 tickets sold. No Strings Attached falls from last week’s respectable sixth to number ten.