SHAZAM! Puts a Damper on BIRTHDAY Debut

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SHAZAM! Puts a Damper on BIRTHDAY Debut

Apr 09, 2019

Writer by Pierce Conran
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MONEY and US Lead Holdovers in Soft Frame

Despite a pair of new titles opening at the top of the box office, good weather and other factors drove admissions down just over 25% as 1.35 million entries were recorded over the weekend. The market share remained similar compared to the previous week as Hollywood titles clinched a thin 52% majority of sales, with Korean films accounting for 40% of the total.

Unlike in Western markets, the new DC Comics entry Shazam! experienced mixed results in Korea despite its first place debut. The family-oriented comedy-action title opened with 355,000 entries (USD 2.78 million), with a total of 501,000 spectators (USD 3.85 million) tallied over its first five days. Reactions from both critics and audiences have been middling, which will likely dissuade larger audiences who are getting ready for fellow superhero tentpole Avengers: Endgame to enter theaters later this month.

Despite strong reviews, the Sewol-themed drama Birthday, which stars JEON Do-yeon and SUL Kyung-gu and is produced by LEE Chang-dong, had a soft opening on the charts in second place with 276,000 seats (USD 2.09 million) filled over the weekend and a total of viewers 375,000 (USD 2.78 million) recorded since its Wednesday start.

Leading the holdovers was local financial thriller Money, which dropped one spot and just over 60% as it welcomed another 230,000 spectators (USD 1.8 million) to bring its total to an impressive 3.12 million sales (USD 23.21 million) to date.

Following its strong debut last week, Jordan PEELE’s latest offering Us experienced a steep 66% fall as it filled 211,000 seats (USD 1.67 million) in fourth place, with a running total of 1.34 million admissions (USD 10 million).

Holding well in fifth place with just a 25% decline was the Taiwanese romantic drama Fall in Love at First Kiss, which added 89,000 viewers (USD 658,000) for a total of 319,000 entries (USD 2.25 million).

A slew of releases are bearing down on theaters this coming week, including the comic book reboot Hellboy, the action drama Peppermint and the local drama Another Child, the directorial debut of actor KIM Yun-seok.

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