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[HanCinema's Box Office Review] 2017.08.04 - 2017.08.06

Local historical heroes fly high during peak season...

Director Jang Hoon's fourth film, "A Taxi Driver" -- starring Song Kang-ho, one of Korea's most celebrated and prolific talents -- enjoyed the third highest opening of all time and came away from its opening weekend with just under 3 million admissions (63.64%). The film captures the heroic deeds of an unknown cab driver who helped a foreign journalist (Jürgen Hinzpeter played by Thomas Kretschmann) during the infamous Gwangju Uprising that destabilised the country early in 1980. From 1,906 screens, "A Taxi Driver" banked $21.3 million and has streaked into sixth in the list of the highest grossing films of the year. Kang's previous films include "The Front Line" (2011), "Secret Reunion" (2010), and his debut "Rough Cut" (2008).

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Last weekend, "The Battleship Island" (with Hwang Jung-min, So Ji-sub, Song Joong-ki and Lee Jung-hyun) rocketed to pole position and became the third highest grossing film of the year, but it was unable to secure a second straight week at the top here. Its screen count was slashed in half to 1,017 and from them claimed 692,294 admissions (15.09%), moving its total tally to just over 6 million, or $41.4 million. "Despicable Me 3" was bumped down one place to third; it attracted 2.6 million filmgoers ($16.9 million), 535,494 (10.95%) of which came from this past weekend. Worldwide, Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures' third instalment in their popular "Despicable Me" series has banked $879.5 million.

In fourth place entered "Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter" by director Kobun Shizuno. (The "Detective Conan" animated films are based on Gosho Aoyama's popular "Case Closed" manage series.) From 557 screens around the country, "Crimson Love Letter" earned just over $1 million (3.23%), or 160,735 admissions, and was followed by Christopher Nolan's WWII blockbuster, "Dunkirk" on 150,454 (3.96%). "Dunkirk" entered the fray three weeks ago in first but it's quickly losing ground to cinematic threats both foreign and domestic. With this past weekend's haul included, Nolan's gritty vision of the evacuation of Dunkirk moves its bottom line in Korea to $19.9 million (2.5 million admissions).

The Japanese anime film "Crayon Shin-chan: Invasion!! Alien Shiriri" by director Masakazu Hashimoto fell one place to sixth with 26,761 admissions (0.53%), followed by the recent Spider-Man reboot, "Spider-Man: Homecoming" with Tom Holland. "Homecoming" has been active for a month and is currently the second-highest grossing film of the year behind "Confidential Assignment" (7.8 million admissions); since its release July 5, "Homecoming" has claimed 7.2 million admissions, or $52.3 million. Aisling Walsh's biopic "Maudie" remained unmoved in eighth and 16,271 admissions, and the final two places went to new new foreign films from America: Eleanor Coppola's "Paris Can Wait" (15,991) and the animated film "The Emoji Movie" (15,426).

Korean Box Office - Admissions for the Weekend 2017.08.04 - 2017.08.06 (www.kobis.or.kr)

# Films Release date Week-end Total
1 "A Taxi Driver" (택시 운전사) 2017/08/02 2 925 136 4 362 305
2 "The Battleship Island" (군함도) 2017/07/26 692 301 6 077 164
3 "Despicable Me 3"   535 494 2 616 436
4 "Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter" (名探偵コナン から紅の恋歌(ラブレター))   160 735 311 956
5 "Dunkirk"   150 454 2 593 877
6 "Crayon Shinchan 2017 Theatrical Film: Invasion!! Alien Shiriri" (映画クレヨンしんちゃん: 襲来!! 宇宙人シリリ)   26 761 316 196
7 "Spider-Man: Homecoming"   24 170 7 241 196
8 "Maudie"   16 178 253 469
9 "Paris Can Wait"   15 991 20 761
10 "The Emoji Movie"   15 426 28 253
Korean movies only  
  "Midnight Runners" (청년경찰) 2017/08/09 5 077 30 184
  "Criminal Conspiracy" (공범자들) 2017/08/17 666 3 196
  "Write or Dance" (여자들) 2017/08/03 632 1 951
  "Our President" (노무현입니다) 2017/05/25 501 1 853 737
  "The Mimic" (장산범) 2017/08/17 406 1 699
  "Anarchist from Colony" (박열) 2017/06/28 300 2 357 074
  "Troublers" (불온한 당신) 2017/07/20 248 3 073
  "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" (복수는 나의 것) 2002/03/29 116 929
  "Bound By Chasity Rule" (열녀문, 1962) - Re-release   115 4 097
  "The Merciless" (불한당: 나쁜 놈들의 세상) 2017/05/17 114 936 376

 - Christopher Wheeler

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