‘Maze Runner’ speeds to the top
Dylan O’Brien stars in the dystopian young adult movie “The Maze Runner.” [AP/NEWSIS]
The film stars MTV “Teen Wolf” heartthrob and former YouTube star Dylan O’Brien as one of a group of boys living in an isolated paradise where they are trapped by a giant, moving concrete maze. The movie is based on the first novel in a young adult series written by James Dashner.
In Korea, the 20th Century Fox release opened with audiences numbering 631,816 and collected 5 billion won ($4.8 million). In North America, it debuted with $32.5 million in domestic ticket sales.
In second place at the domestic box office was John Carney’s “Begin Again,” a music-inspired film that saw 360,995 moviegoers over the weekend to take its six-week total up to 2,437,769.
Two notches down from last week’s No. 1, domestic film “Tazza 2” ranked third, with 222,564 ticket sales.
Liam Neeson’s revenge thriller “A Walk Among the Tombstones” debuted in fourth place by attracting 99,916 moviegoers in Korea. In the film, Neeson plays a private investigator who is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who murdered his wife.
Meanwhile, the comedy-filled periodic film “The Pirates” remained in fifth place for two consecutive weeks with 78,109 in ticket sales. The film tells the story of a group of bandits, pirates and royal forces on a mission to find a missing state seal.
The record-breaking film “The Admiral: Roaring Currents,” which caused a nationwide stir last month with its heroic depiction of Adm. Yi Sun-sin (1545-98) and his leadership in the Battle of Myeongnyang, fought hard for its 10th-place slot, pulling in 23,030 tickets to bring its eight-week total to nearly 18 million won.
In North America, Neeson’s film earned $13.1 million from Friday through Sunday and finished in second place, according to estimates from tracking firm Rentrak.
The comedy “This is Where I Leave You” landed in the No. 3 slot with takings of $11.9 million.
The film features Tina Fey and Jason Bateman in the story of four grown siblings forced to live together for a week after their father dies.
“The Maze Runner” was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of 21st Century Fox, while “Walk Among the Tombstones” was distributed in the United States by Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corporation and in Canada by Entertainment One Group. “This is Where I Leave You” was released by Warner Bros.
BY JIN EUN-SOO, REUTERS [jes@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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