August 26 box office
According to the Korea Film Promotion Commission's integrated computer network for movie theater tickets, 'Oppenheimer' (director Christopher Nolan) mobilized 189,930 viewers at the box office on the 26th, recording a cumulative audience of 2,166,377.
'Oppenheimer' is a new film directed by Christopher Nolan, about a nuclear development project of a genius scientist who has to take the risk of destroying the world in order to save it. It surpassed 1.5 million viewers in 6 days of release. In the beginning, it attracted audiences faster than director Nolan's 'Inception' and 'The Dark Knight', but it is evaluated that it is not able to show strong support due to the 3-hour running time and difficult story development.
In second place, 'Concrete Utopia' (director Uhm Tae-hwa) mobilized 125,571 viewers and recorded a cumulative audience of 3,188,155, succeeding in breaking the 3 million mark. 'Concrete Utopia' is a disaster drama depicting the story of survivors gathering in the only remaining imperial palace apartment in Seoul, which was devastated by a major earthquake. 'Concrete Utopia' was praised for capturing both cinematic quality and popularity, and was selected as a Korean film entry in the International Feature Film category at the 96th American Academy Film Awards.
In third place is 'Sweet Sea: 7510' (director Lee Han), which mobilized 97,961 viewers and recorded a cumulative audience of 756,247, and is promoting. 'Sweet Sea: 7510' tells the story of Chiho (Yoo Hae-jin), a genius confectionery researcher who knows nothing but sweets, and Il-young (Kim Hee-seon), a world-positive mind who only knows about going straight.
'Elemental' (directed by Peter Sohn) beat 'Smuggling' (directed by Ryu Seung-wan) to rank fourth. It is mobilizing 40,537 spectators and running toward the 7 million mark. Currently, the cumulative number of viewers is 6,997,213, and it is certain that it will break through on the 27th. 'Elemental' has the highest score among animations since 'Frozen', and has been steadily attracting audiences after taking the throne of the highest-grossing foreign film in 2023.
'Smuggling' (director Ryu Seung-wan) ranked 5th with 39,676 viewers, with a cumulative audience of 4,927,769. 'Smuggling' is a maritime crime action drama in which people get caught up in a lifelong battle in front of people who made a living by rescuing daily necessities thrown into the sea. The film industry expects that 'smuggling', the only one of the Big 4 that has exceeded the break-even point, will break through 5 million.
Jiye Choi, staff reporter at TenAsia wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr