Domestic thriller ‘Insane’ shocks its way to No. 1

Mystery thriller “Insane” starring Kang Ye-won, center, raced to the top of the box office with its never-ending suspense and tight plot. [MEGABOX PLUS M]

A slew of new releases adorned the Korean box office this weekend. And among them, thrillers stood out.

A domestic thriller “Insane” debuted on top spot with 308,619 tickets sold.

Starring Kang Ye-won and Lee Sang-yun, the film intends to reveal a loophole in Korea’s current law system where anybody can be coerced to be hospitalized in mental clinics legally as long as an agreement has been signed by two guardians and a psychiatrist.

Kang plays Su-ah who is one day kidnapped and gets hospitalized in private mental clinic for an unknown reason. Lee plays TV producer Nam-su who digs into the case after finding out about Su-ah’s horrendous experience there by reading her diary that is delivered to his office one day.

The film is directed by a lesser known director Lee Cheol-ha who has produced “The Haunted House Project” (2010) and “Love Me Not” (2006), both of which failed to enjoy commercial success.

However, with “Insane,” Lee is being re-evaluated for structuring a speedy plot that maintains a high level of tension throughout.

Disney’s long-running animation “Zootopia” remained in the second slot, adding another 218,216 ticket sales to make its eight-week total to nearly four million. The film has made 30.6 billion won ($26.6 million) in Korean theaters so far.

Another spine-chilling thriller shined during the weekend. Produced by J. J Abrams from the latest “Star Wars” series, “10 Cloverfield Lane” was spotted in third. The film follows a woman named Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who one day wakes up in an unknown room where she is told by a mysterious man Howard (John Goodman) that she barely escaped a deadly accident. He tries to keep her inside, saying that everyone out there is either dead or being continuously attacked.

It sold 183,116 tickets in its first weekend, making 1.5 billion won.

“Eddie the Eagle,” the true success story of a famous British ski jumper Eddie Edwards who participated in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics as the first ski jumper from Great Britain opened in fourth place with 108,741 tickets sold.

Made by the team from the 2015 hit film “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” this film stars Taron Egerton in Eddie’s role and is produced by Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn.

British actor-turned-director Dexter Fletcher impressively choreographed the touching story of the underdog’s success story while recreating the 1980s with the soundtrack of synthpop and retro aesthetics.

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