‘Exhuma’ Tops ‘Godzilla X Kong’ in Sixth Weekend Win

Spooky Korean drama film “Exhuma” held on at the top of the local box off ice chart for the sixth consecutive weekend. It saw off challenges from significant newcomers “Troll Factory” and “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.”

The Choi Min-sik-starring “Exhuma” dropped 32% week-on-week to record $3.08 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That gives it a cumulative total of $78.7 million, earned from nearly 11 million spectators.

“Troll Factory,” a crime drama, in which an investigative journalist is lured into probing an online scam company only for his informant to mysteriously disappear, was the weekend’s highest-placed new release. Directed by Ahn Gooc-jin and starring Son Suk-ku (Netflix’s “A Killer Paradox”), it earned $2.56 million, good enough for second place, between Friday and Sunday. Over its five opening days it built a total of $3.75 million.

“Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” opened in third place. It earned $1.80 million between Friday and Sunday and $2.40 million over its opening five days.

While the two top new releases did not manage to take the top spot, they juiced the weekend to a $9.16 million total and helped March 2024 exceed March 2023. The latest month saw 11.7 million ticket sales (a 57% year-on-year gain) for a KRW116 billion ($85.6 million) gross revenue haul. Local films enjoyed a 72% market share in the month.

The strong March helped the first quarter into positive territory too. January to March 2024 saw revenue of KRW302 billion ($223 million), a 10% year-on-year improvement. Ticket sales of 30.9 million were up 23% compared with 25.2 million on the first three months of 2023.

Over the latest weekend, “Dune 2” slotted in behind the two newcomers in fourth place. It earned $578,000 in its fifth weekend on release in Korea. That extended its total to $16.3 million, the third highest total by any film this year in Korea.

Japanese animation film “Spy X Family Code: White” took fifth place with $272,000. After two weekends, it has a cumulative total of $1.74 million.

Korean historical-political drama “1980: The Unforgettable Day” opened in sixth place with $141,000 over the weekend, Over five full days, it accumulated $217,000.

“Wonka” earned $97,000 in seventh place over the weekend. Released at the end of January, it has a cumulative total of $25.2 million after two months on release. That figure is the second highest of any film this year in Korea, behind “Exhuma.”

Another Japanese animation, “Mobile Suit Gundam: Seed Freedom” took eighth place in the Korean chart due to previews alone. Set to release officially on Wednesday (April 3), the film earned $93,800 over the latest weekend.

Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist” opened in ninth place. It earned $73,400 between Friday and Sunday and $146,000 over its full five-day opening.

Korean animation, “Bread Barbershop: Celeb in Bakery Town” rounded out the top ten with$43,000. It has a running total of $1.23 million.