Korea Box Office: ‘Harbin’ Commands Over Half of Weekend’s Total as ‘Mufasa’ Takes Third Place

Woo Min-ho’s historical drama “Harbin” stormed to the top of the South Korean box office for the weekend of Dec. 27-29.

The film, set in 1909, follows Korean independence activists plotting the assassination of Japan’s Prime Minister during their quest for independence. Starring Hyun Bin, Park Jeong-min and Jeon Yeo-been, “Harbin” earned $5.9 million over the weekend, accounting for 55.3% of the total box office with 903,865 admissions. This brings its cumulative earnings to $15.5 million. The box office figures are from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council.

In second place, Kwak Gyeong-Taek’s “The Firefighters” portrays the lives of a dedicated team of firefighters as they confront dangerous situations and personal challenges while striving to protect their community. It secured $1.5 million over the weekend, accounting for 14% of the market share with 233,365 admissions and totaling $20.5 million to date, according to Kobis data.

Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” ranked third, earning $809,000 over the weekend, making up 7.5% of the market share with 120,080 admissions for a total of $4.1 million. “Moana 2,” also from Disney, followed in fourth place, adding $642,000 to its gross, capturing 5.9% of the weekend box office with 99,783 admissions. Its cumulative total has reached $20.9 million.

Rounding out the top five, anime “Crayon Shin-chan: Ora’s Dinosaur Diary” earned $636,000, with 98,621 admissions. Its cumulative earnings stand at $3.4 million.

“Wicked” took sixth place with $394,000, for a cumulative total of $13.5 million. “The Substance” earned $100,000 for seventh place for a total of $976,000, while “Niko: Adventures of the Aurora Expedition” brought in $74,000 at eighth place for a total of $278,000. At ninth place, “Pororo the Movie: Great Adventure Under the Sea” earned $81,660 for a total of $214,610, and “The Fall: Director’s Cut” rounded out the top ten with $82,540 for a total of $165,900.

The weekend’s total box office earnings reflect a slight uptick compared to the previous week.