A murder mystery film thought to be Korea's first film shot on Super-35mm, has become the country's highest grossing film with 5.8 million admissions.

Tipped for a slot at next month's Berlin International Film Festival, possibly in competition, Joint Security Area portrays the secret friendship between a group of North and South Korean soldiers and the tragedy that ensues. The Myung Film adaptation of a best-selling novel, directed by Park Chan-wook, has also snatched Shiri's $1.3m sales record with its own $2m sale to Japan.

The picture is being handled by distributor CJ Entertainment, a division of corporate giant Cheil Jedang and an investor in Dreamworks. CJ Entertainment also took the number two slot at last year's local box office with Gladiator.