Breaks French Record for Korean Film in Only 4 Days
BONG Joon-ho’s sci-fi blockbuster Snowpiercer opened in its first international market last week when it premiered on 300 screens in France (a record for a Korean film), following positive receptions at the Deauville American and L’Etrange Film Festivals back in September.
From October 30th to November 3rd, the picture garnered close to 200,000 admissions, beating out the most successful Korean films of the past in the market, which included KIM Ki-duk’s Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring (186,760 admissions) and BONG’s previous blockbuster The Host (159,000 admissions). What’s more his new film handily eclipsed those totals in only four days and is boasting a strong per-theater average, particularly in the Parisian metro area, according to local distributor Le Pacte/Wild Side Films.
Snowpiercer ranked fifth on the French box office chart behind four major US releases and was second only to Thor: Dark World in new releases. The dystopian thriller amassed over 9.3 million admissions on native soil following its release in Korea on July 31st.
Meanwhile, it has also been reported that the French graphic novel that the film is based on will be released in English for the very first time by Titan Comics, starting with volumes one and two (out of three in total) earmarked for release on January 29 and February 25 of next year, respectively.
BONG’s film will next be seen in Hong Kong later this month as well as Japan in February 2014. The film was sold to a total of 167 markets and a separate version is being prepared for English-language markets by The Weinstein Company for distribution early next year.