‘The First Slam Dunk’ surpasses ‘Demon Slayer’

Song Tae-seop, Jeong Dae-man, Seo Tae-woong, Kang Baek-ho, and Chae Chi-su, the five members of Buksan High School who came out of comic books, are creating a legend. The Japanese animation ‘The First Slam Dunk’ is challenging the all-time box office success rankings in Korea.

‘The First Slam Dunk’, which was released on the 4th of last month, is a movie that depicts the dreams, passion, and unstoppable challenges of the five members of the Buksan High School basketball team who dream of winning the national championship. It is a theatrical version of the Japanese cartoon 'Slam Dunk' and was directed and written by the original cartoonist Takehiko Inoue.

‘The First Slam Dunk’ attracted 62,090 people on its first day of release. As it continues to spread word of mouth, it has pushed out 'Negotiation' starring Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin, and has maintained the top spot at the box office for 9 consecutive days (as of February 5). The cumulative audience number was 2,237,695.

As a result, 'The First Slam Dunk' ranked 3rd in the box office rankings of all-time Japanese animations released in Korea. 1st place is ‘Your Name’ (3.79 million people), 2nd place is ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ (2.61 million people). ‘The First Slam Dunk’ surpassed ‘Demon Slayer: Infinite Train’ (2.18 million viewers) and ‘Spirited Away’ (2.16 million viewers), and is challenging a new legend.

Thanks to the performance of 'The First Slam Dunk', the popularity of books, pop-up stores, and OST limited edition LP releases is also increasing. According to comics publisher Daewon CI, since the release date of 'The First Slam Dunk', the number of copies sold of the new re-edited version of Slam Dunk has been estimated at approximately 600,000 copies. Including additional orders, it is expected to exceed 1 million copies by early March.

Additionally, a pop-up store was opened at The Hyundai Department Store in Yeouido, Seoul on January 26th. The number of fans who stay up all night and even go on ‘open runs’ to buy goods is increasing. In addition, according to Music & New, the music business affiliate of Content Media Group NEW, a limited edition LP of the TV animation 'Slam Dunk' OST will be released. This limited edition LP contains a total of 6 songs, including singer Park Sang-min's 'Road to You', the opening song of the 1990s TV animation 'Slam Dunk', and Faith's 'If I'm With You', which appeared as the ending song.

It is a ‘slam dunk’ that is gaining popularity in all areas, including theaters, comics, and merchandise. Amid the weakness of Korean movies, the popularity of ‘The First Slam Dunk’ is expected to continue. Attention is being paid to what the performance of ‘The First Slam Dunk’ will be.

Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr