Local Thriller Films ‘The Phone’ And ‘The Exclusive: Beat the Devil's Tattoo’ Reclaim South Korean Weekend Box Office
South Korean thriller movie "The Phone" replaces "The Martian" in the number one spot of the South Korean box office over the Oct. 23-35 weekend, noted The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday.
The Korean Film Council's KOBIS database showed that "The Phone" attracted 31.8 percent of the market share over the weekend with a total of $5.1 million in earnings.
The movie was directed by Kim Bong Joo and featured a unique twist of fantasy as opposed to the usual dark realistic characteristic of most famous Korean thriller films.
"The Phone" tells of a husband who was given a second chance to save the life of his wife who was killed a year earlier by a murderer. A remake of the film in Chinese language will be made as part of the co-production agreement between NEW and China Huace.
During the weekend, "The Martian" was bumped off to second place with 29.5 percent of the market share, a huge drop from the last two week's almost 50 percent in box office revenue.
According to Entertainment Weekly on Thursday, "The Martian" faired really well in the U.S. box office over the weekend with $15.7 million in its fourth weekend, with a total domestic earnings of $169 million and $392 million internationally. Over the Halloween weekend, the movie industry watchers are expected to see a 30 to 35 percent drop in sales to about $10 to $11.
South Korea was among the largest markets for the American film, topping the box office for two consecutive weeks with a gross earning of almost $30 million. "The Martian" has reportedly attracted 4 million moviegoers making it the 11th best movie of the year.
Another South Korean film directed by Roh Deok, "The Exclusive: Beat the Devil's Tattoo," came in third spot with 16.2 percent of the market share in its first weekend, with a total earnings of approximately $2.8 million.
In fourth place, the film featuring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, "The Intern," brought 11.2 percent of the box office revenue, with $22 million worth of earnings.
The Filament Pictures "Collective Invention" came in fifth with earnings of around $508,000.
