A VIOLENT PROSECUTOR Scores Best-Ever Lunar New Year Launch

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A VIOLENT PROSECUTOR Scores Best-Ever Lunar New Year Launch

Feb 11, 2016

Writer by Pierce Conran
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Star Power Drives Thriller to 2nd All Time Opening Week

After a slow January, viewers once again packed into theatres over the Lunar New Year weekend, purchasing 3.16 million tickets, 77% of which for local titles. While the figure was 50% higher than the previous time Lunar New Year fell on a Monday (2012), the holiday weekend was down from all three previous years.

With a commanding 74% of the market, Showbox’s A Violent Prosecutor scored the largest Lunar New Year bow ever, drawing 2.32 million (USD 15.69 million) spectators to theaters for the three-day weekend. Its opening weekend was the fifth largest on record (in local currency), behind Roaring Currents (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Assassination (2015) and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), all summer releases.

Driven by the star power of HWANG Jung-min, whose current hot streak includes Ode to My Father (2014), Veteran and The Himalayas (still on the charts at number ten) in 2015, and GANG Dong-won, fresh of the success of The Priests, LEE Il-hyung’s A Violent Prosecutor accrued 4.44 million admissions (USD 30.26 million) over the holiday weekend and 5.45 million (USD 36.55 million) since its Wednesday bow, giving it the second largest opening week of all time, behind only Roaring Currents.

In a distant second, Kung Fu Panda 3 shed 60% of its audience for a 550,275 viewers (USD 3.7 million) in its second frame and 1.06 million admissions (USD 7.16 million) over the entire holiday. After 13 days, the Dreamworks toon has amassed 2.98 million viewers (USD 19.74 million).

In third place, but with only a 2% share was Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, which opened with 70,390 viewers (USD 427,444) over the normal weekend and has taken in 147,336 spectators (USD 904,690) over its opening six days.

Next on the list was Todd Haynes’ Oscar-contender Carol, which impressed with 48,877 tickets (USD 348,642) over the weekend in limited release, and 103,984 admissions (USD 736,075) since its Thursday bow.

Bowing in fifth place was local animation Mini Force : New Heroes Rise with 32,317 viewers (USD 202,693) and 61,952 admissions (USD 391,246) over the six days since it debuted.

Falling 84% and 86%, respectively, were fellow local Lunar New Year titles SORI: Voice from the Heart and A Melody to Remember, with 28,433 viewers (USD 178,034) and 24,590 viewers (USD 160,608) over the three-day weekend. After just under two weeks of play, SORI: Voice from the Heart has reached 422,379 spectators (USD 2.6 million), while A Melody to Remember, in 20 days, has brought in 1.02 million admissions (USD 6.42 million).

Holdovers are expected to control the chart this coming week, with only the Japanese anime Aikatsu! The Movie and local kids film Bungaeman (which translates to Lightning Man) providing minor competition.

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