‘Whiplash’ propels into first place at box office

Damien Chazelle’s second feature film, “Whiplash,” depicting a brutal relationship between a musical prodigy and a violent instructor, topped the Korean box office over the weekend. Provided by the distributor

Foreign films dominated the Korean box office with “Whiplash” crawling up to first place and “Kingsman: The Secret Service” gripping onto second over the weekend, according to the state-run Korean Film Council on Monday.

“Whiplash,” written and directed by Damien Chazelle, collected 374,429 admissions during the weekend, making 6.6 billion won ($5.9 million) since it opened in Korean movie theaters on March 12.

The musical drama is the 30-year-old U.S. filmmaker’s second feature. It was inspired by his personal experience as a high-school drummer under pressure from his violent music instructor.

This Oscar-winning film dramatizes the relationship between 19-year-old aspiring drummer Neyman (Miles Teller) and his abusive teacher Fletcher (J. K. Simmons), who pushes his apprentices to the limit in the name of bringing out their full potential.

The band members endure abusive language, angry shouting and physical violence throughout the movie.

J. K. Simmons won best supporting actor at the 2015 Academy Awards for making a powerful impact with his role as a villainous teacher.

With a rhythmic jazz score accompanied by powerful drumbeats on top of the intense collisions between the two protagonists, the film keeps the adrenaline pumping throughout its 106-minute running time.

Matthew Vaughn’s spy thriller “Kingsman: The Secret Service” was in the second slot with 317,721 tickets sold, bringing its six-week total to 5.3 million admissions.

It has become the fourth-most-watched R-rated film in Korea’s cinematic history, and the first foreign film to achieve this feat. The movie has earned 43.9 billion won in Korea so far.

Disney’s live-action version of “Cinderella” opened in third place with 311,250 admissions over the weekend.

The action movie “Run All Night” debuted in fourth with 151,061 admissions.

In the film starring Liam Neeson, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the 62-year-old actor plays retired hitman Jimmy, who risks venturing into the underground gang world again in order to save his estranged son Mike (Joel Kinnaman) when he becomes the target of a strong mob boss.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]