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Japanese animated phenomenon “Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island” held onto the top spot at the South Korean box office over the weekend of Nov. 6–8, capturing its fourth consecutive weekend crown.
According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the Toho-distributed fantasy feature generated $1.1 million from 149,050 admissions across 977 screens, claiming 23.5% of the weekend market. Directed by Kei Oikawa and adapted from the popular manga by Nagano, the animated hit has accumulated $21 million from 2,788,843 total admissions since its Sept. 30 rollout.
Next Entertainment World’s corporate mystery thriller “Final Interview” opened in second place, pulling in $787,344 from 104,476 admissions across 957 screens to capture 16.7% of theatrical receipts. Directed by Kim Jung-hoon and adapted from Akinari Asakura’s bestselling novel, the claustrophobic thriller stars Cho Yi-hyun, Kim Jae-won, Shin Seung-ho, Kang You-seok, Kwak Dong-yeon, and Bae Gang-hee as six finalists competing for a single coveted corporate position who are tasked with evaluating each other during a two-hour deliberation, only for the process to descend into chaos when envelopes containing their darkest secrets are exposed. Since launching mid-week on Nov. 4, the release has grossed $1.2 million from 166,796 admissions.
Sony Pictures and TriStar’s wilderness survival thriller “Heart of the Beast” took third place in its sophomore frame, earning $667,817 from 90,679 admissions across 851 screens for 14.17% of the market. The Brad Pitt-starring action-adventure lifted its cumulative total to $2.7 million from 379,763 viewers since its Oct. 28 debut.
Toho’s anime special “Detective Conan: The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30” debuted in fourth place, pulling in $592,765 from 79,999 admissions across 409 screens to take 12.58% of the frame. The 30th-anniversary mystery special, which follows Conan Edogawa uncovering an organized counterfeit banknote operation and a connected murder case, has accumulated $803,051 from 108,164 admissions since bowing on Nov. 5.
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s animated feature “The Cat in the Hat” opened in fifth place, grossing $200,431 from 29,259 admissions across 608 screens for 4.2% of receipts. It has taken $216,246 from 31,449 viewers since opening wide on Nov. 6.
Aniplex’s anime fantasy “Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie -Walpurgisnacht: Rising-” placed sixth on the admissions chart with 25,069 tickets across 187 screens, though it generated a higher revenue gross of $211,771 (4.4% market share) due to premium ticketing. Directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and Yukihiro Miyamoto, the long-awaited franchise sequel has grossed $362,956 from 43,319 admissions since its Nov. 4 premiere.
Anime re-release “Attack on Titan: Crimson Arrows” placed seventh, collecting $125,629 from 14,448 admissions across 130 screens, lifting its cumulative total to $742,804 from 97,105 admissions.
Searchlight Pictures’ “Wild Horse Nine” debuted in eighth place with $111,927 from 14,113 admissions across 318 screens. The Venice competition title has grossed $166,275 from 21,394 admissions since opening on Nov. 4.
Director Hur Jin-ho’s political crime thriller “The Assassin(s)” placed ninth in its seventh weekend, taking in $90,222 from 12,333 admissions across 406 screens. Distributed by Hive Media Corp and starring Yu Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho, the reconstruction of the 1974 assassination attempt on President Park Chung-hee has accumulated $25 million from 3,476,553 admissions since its Sept. 23 launch.
Rounding out the top 10, By4M Studio and Barunson E&A’s exam-committee workplace comedy “Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng,” starring Lee Sun-bin and Yoo Jae-myung, earned $70,527 from 10,340 admissions across 395 screens, pushing its cumulative gross to $688,175.
The overall market collective gross for the weekend was $6.2 million, up from last week’s $5.3 million.
