Korean Theaters Prepare to Welcome NO TIME TO DIE 

Following the Chuseok holidays and without any major news attractions, theater crowds thinned out as admissions slowed 36% with a total of 476,000 sales recorded. Local titles continued to drive the market, capturing almost two out of every three tickets sold.

CJ Entertainment’s surprise hit, the voice phishing-themed On the Line, stayed in first place after dropping just 28%. The film sold 182,000 tickets (USD 1.57 million) over the weekend and has to date banked a robust 944,000 admissions (USD 7.98 million).

Lotte’s heart-warming Chuseok title Miracle: Letters to the President ebbed 35% as it rose one spot to second place with 78,000 viewers (USD 646,000) recorded, pushing its total to 444,000 entries (USD 3.58 million).

After four weeks in theaters, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings eased 53% as it dropped to third with 60,000 sales (USD 530,000). The Marvel title has so far welcomed 1.66 million spectators (USD 14.42 million).

Fourth and fifth place, both occupied by animated films released last week for Chuseok, switched this week as Crayon Shinchan: Crash! Scribble Kingdom Almost Four Heroes rose one spot, bringing in 30,000 viewers (USD 241,000), with 128,000 sales (USD 1.03 million) recorded to date. Pokemon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle was behind with 29,000 entries (USD 223,000), but still a higher total, with 163,000 tickets (USD 1.26 million) sold so far.

Korean films will have to take a back seat to James Bond next week as No Time to Die, the latest installment in the long-running franchise, finally makes its way to theaters after several pandemic-related delays.