The Assassin(s) Tops Korea’s Chuseok Box Office as Admissions Pass 1.5 Million

The Assassin(s) led Korea’s box office over the Chuseok holiday weekend, pulling in more than 1.5 million admissions since releasing on September 23. It’s the top-grossing title in the market during the three-day holiday period (September 24–27), according to data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The film has grossed about $11.3 million (KRW 15.3 billion) from roughly 1.547 million admissions over the first five days of release, underscoring a strong festival-to-market run following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

What the film is and who’s in it
Hur Jin-ho’s historical thriller centers on the 1974 attempted assassination of South Korean President Park Chung-hee and the subsequent death of the First Lady. The story follows a senior inspector, a veteran journalist, and a rookie reporter as they investigate what happened and who was responsible, amid career and personal threats. The cast includes Lee Min-ho, Park Hae-il, and Yoo Hai-jin.

Other titles in the box-office mix

In second place over the holiday frame was Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub, a long-awaited sequel that opened September 23 and grossed around $6 million from about 814,000 admissions.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey sits in third place, adding roughly $5 million to its tally. Its delivery has pushed the film to just over $98 million from about 11.7 million admissions in Korea, making it the year’s biggest import so far.

Warner Bros Korea’s The Intern, a remake starring Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee, came in fourth with about $2.6 million for a cumulative $5.5 million since its September 16 release. The broader weekend box office saw US horror Obsession, with a $1.6 million take for a cumulative $6.7 million since its September 2 release.

Looking at the week’s broader picture, Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love debuted in fifth place with around $1 million in its first five days. The Netflix-backed title is Korea’s official submission for Best International Feature at the Oscars. Separately, the year-to-date chart remains led by The King’s Warden, with about $120 million in revenue from 16.9 million admissions, followed by The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and titles that premiered at Cannes such as Colony and Hope.

Source: Deadline

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