Animated Hit Chiikawa Leads South Korean Box Office for Fourth Week

Japanese animated feature "Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island" kept the top spot at the South Korean box office over the weekend of November 6 to 8. This marks its fourth consecutive weekend crown.

Box Office Results

Distributed by Toho and directed by Kei Oikawa based on Nagano's manga, the fantasy movie made $1.1 million from 149,050 tickets across 977 screens. It took 23.5 percent of the weekend market. Since its September 30 release, it has earned a total of $21 million from 2,788,843 admissions. Next Entertainment World's corporate thriller "Final Interview" opened in second place with $787,344 from 104,476 tickets across 957 screens. Directed by Kim Jung-hoon from Akinari Asakura's novel, the film features Cho Yi-hyun, Kim Jae-won, Shin Seung-ho, Kang You-seok, Kwak Dong-yeon, and Bae Gang-hee. It has grossed $1.2 million since its November 4 debut. Sony Pictures and TriStar's "Heart of the Beast" took third place, earning $667,817 on 851 screens to lift its total to $2.7 million since October 28. Toho's anime special "Detective Conan: The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30" debuted in fourth with $592,765, while Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's "The Cat in the Hat" opened fifth with $200,431. Aniplex's anime fantasy "Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie -Walpurgisnacht: Rising-" placed sixth with $211,771 from 187 screens due to premium ticketing. The re-release "Attack on Titan: Crimson Arrows" took seventh place with $125,629, and Searchlight Pictures' "Wild Horse Nine" debuted in eighth with $111,927. Director Hur Jin-ho's political crime thriller "The Assassin(s)" ranked ninth in its seventh weekend, adding $90,222 to reach a $25 million cumulative total since September 23. By4M Studio and Barunson E&A's workplace comedy "Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng," starring Lee Sun-bin and Yoo Jae-myung, rounded out the top ten with $70,527. Total box office revenue for the weekend reached $6.2 million, rising from the previous week's $5.3 million.

Context

Box office charts in South Korea are tracked by KOBIS, a system operated by the Korean Film Council that gathers daily and weekend theatrical data. Animated films and local dramas frequently perform strongly alongside major Hollywood releases in the country's competitive theatrical market.