Romulus Wins Opening Weekend as ‘Twisters’ Underperforms

“Alien: Romulus” surged to the top of the South Korean box office, dominating a weekend marked by the entry of five new-release titles into the top ten chart.

The U.S. horror-thriller franchise film amassed $3.47 million between Friday and Sunday, capturing a 28% market share. Data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), indicated that “Alien Romulus” garnered $5.46 million over its full five-day opening.

These numbers were sufficient to dethrone “Pilot,” the Korean comedy-drama that ruled the box office for the past two weeks, to second position. A wealth of new releases also boosted the nationwide weekend box office aggregate to $12.4 million.

“Pilot” suffered a 45% week-on-week decline, earning $2.73 million over the weekend and reaching a cumulative total of $26.7 million over three weekends. This places it as the fourth highest-grossing film in Korea this year, pushing “Wonka” down to fifth position in 2024.

“Land of Happiness,” a new Korean-produced release, debuted in third place with a $1.57 million weekend. Over five days, it collected $3.12 million. The film delves into Korea’s political turmoil of the late 1970s, territory also explored by last year’s top film, “12.12: The Day.”

Another new release, “Twisters,” ranked third among the newcomers, earning a modest $1.61 million and capturing 9.3% market share between Friday and Sunday. This film has accumulated $2.17 million from its five-day opening run and earlier preview screenings.

Korean animation film “Heartsping: Teenieping of Love” slipped from second place on its debut to fifth over the latest weekend, earning $854,000 for a 12-day cumulative total of $4.52 million.

“Victory,” a Korean-made comedy-drama about cheerleading that premiered last month at the New York Asian Film Festival, opened in sixth place. It captured $636,000 over the weekend and $1.36 million over five days.

Concert film “Seventeen Tour ‘Follow’ Again to Cinemas” debuted in seventh place by earning $339,000 over the weekend. Local box office charts, which measure performance by admission numbers, listed it in the tenth spot. The film has now earned $843,000, thanks to 45,000 dedicated K-pop fans.

“Despicable Me” earned $300,000 over the weekend, securing eighth place. Its cumulative total over four weekends has reached $10.2 million, making it the 14th biggest film in Korea this year.

“Inside Out 2,” the leading import film of the year and third overall in Korea, added $195,000 over the latest weekend. Since its release on June 12, it has accumulated an impressive $62.6 million.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” appears to have a shorter lifespan. It earned $188,000 over the weekend, bringing its cumulative total to $15.0 million since its release on July 24, coinciding with the release of “Despicable Me 4.”

Source: Kobis, Korean Film Council