Action-comedy Hitman 2 dominated the Korean box office for a second consecutive weekend, claiming 28% of admissions.
The film earned $1.3m from Friday to Sunday (February 7 to 9), according to Kobis, the Korean Film Council’s box office tracking service.
The sequel has grossed $15m since its January 22 release, surpassing original Hitman: Agent Jun, which took $14.1m in 2020, and pushing the film past its break-even point of 2.3 million admissions. Kwon Sang-woo reprises his role as secret agent-turned-webtoon artist who, in this instalment, is falsely accused of plotting a terrorist attack.
Ranking second was mystery romance Secret: Untold Melody, which added $937,000. Based on Taiwanese blockbuster Secret from director and musician Jay Chou, the adaptation has accumulated $3.8m in its first two weeks. It stars Do Kyung-soo of K-pop boy band EXO alongside Won Jin-ah from Netflix’s Hellbound.
Mystery thriller Nocturnal opened in third place with $623,000. The film stars Ha Jung-woo (The Handmaiden) as a bereft detective searching for answers after the disappearance of his wife and death of his brother. His suspicions grow when his investigation lands on a bestselling author who seemingly predicted his brother’s death.
Dark Nuns, a spin-off from 2015’s The Priests, ranked fourth with $561,000. The exorcism thriller has grossed $10.7m since its January 24 release.
Oscar contender The Substance, directed by Coralie Fargeat, held steady in fifth, adding $208,000 for a $2.9m cume after nearly two months on release.
In sixth was The Winning, a concert film from K-pop singer IU. It earned $120,000, bringing its cume to $1.3m.
Seventh place went to historical action film Harbin, which added $105,000. Since releasing at the end of last year, the film has amassed $32m.
In eighth place was a 4K director’s cut restoration of Tarsem Singh’s The Fall with $93,000. The 2006 cult feature, which premiered at Locarno, has recorded more than100,000 admissions after eight weeks on release for a cume of $835,000.
Rounding out the top 10 were two animated films from highly-popular properties: Pokémon: Lucario And The Mystery of Mew with $89,000, and Pororo Movie: Underwater Adventure with $60,000.
Looking ahead, Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World leads advance ticket sales with 43% of total bookings.
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