South Korean comedy-drama remake “The Intern” debuted atop the local box office in ticket admissions during the weekend of Sept. 18–20, though Christopher Nolan’s holdover epic “The Odyssey” continued to lead overall weekend revenue, generating a higher gross.
According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the newly released local title generated $1.9 million from a chart-topping 275,183 admissions over the three-day frame across 1,428 screens to claim 26% of the weekend market. By comparison, “The Odyssey” generated a weekend-high $2.3 million but finished second on the official admissions chart with 256,789 tickets across 1,253 screens, taking 30.7% of total box office revenue.
Directed by Kim Do-young, the Warner Bros. Korea adaptation of Nancy Meyers’ 2015 Hollywood comedy stars Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee. The narrative follows a 70-year-old retired executive with 37 years of corporate experience who re-enters the workforce as a senior intern at a high-velocity fashion startup run by a driven young CEO. Since launching wide on Sept. 16, the feel-good release has drawn 403,903 total admissions for an overall cumulative gross of $2.8 million.
“The Odyssey” saw its local gross climb to $91.1 million from 11,217,639 total ticket buyers since its Aug. 5 launch.
“Obsession” held third place in its third weekend, earning $1 million from 131,467 admissions across 762 screens. The film accounted for 13.6% of the frame, lifting its cume to $5.4 million from 701,713 viewers since its Sept. 2 rollout.
“Resident Evil” opened in fourth place, pulling in $623,228 from 80,779 admissions across 679 screens. Since its Sept. 17 premiere, the horror title has accumulated $783,336 from 103,654 viewers.
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” placed fifth in its eighth weekend of release, taking $214,082 from 33,636 admissions across 540 screens. The film accounted for 2.8% of the frame, bringing its gross to $67.1 million.
Anime feature “Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island” landed in sixth place ahead of its wide release, generating $199,794 from 20,734 admissions across preview screenings. Directed by Kei Oikawa and based on the manga series by Nagano, the fantasy adventure follows Chiikawa and companions traveling to an island paradise before uncovering an ominous threat. The film has grossed $202,845 from 21,203 admissions ahead of its Sept. 30 rollout.
Mamoru Hosoda’s 2006 anime classic “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” took seventh place via a 20th-anniversary theatrical re-release, earning $97,270 from 12,153 admissions across 150 screens for an updated cume of $736,815 from 132,656 tickets.
Double-feature anime re-release “Digimon Adventure & Digimon Adventure: Our War Game!” opened in eighth place, pulling in $89,411 from 11,456 admissions across 205 screens since its Sept. 16 bow, reaching a cumulative total of $138,143 from 17,764 admissions.
“The Drama” finished in ninth place with $75,165 from 9,527 admissions, lifting its gross to $583,238 from 80,094 total viewers.
Rounding out the top 10 was gambling crime thriller “Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub,” which took $60,860 from 6,999 admissions across festival and special previews. Directed by Choi Kook-hee and starring Byun Yo-han, Noh Jae-won, and Ayaka Miyoshi, the fourth instalment in the franchise, which centers on high-stakes competitive Texas hold’em and international casino circuits, accumulated $147,019 from 19,183 viewers ahead of its wide release on Sept. 23.