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‘Split’ debuts in second place, no match for Marvel

Published: 14 Nov. 2016, 20:28

“Split,” starring actors Yoo Ji-tae and Lee David, came in second in its first weekend. [OPUS PICTURES]

For its third consecutive weekend, Marvel Studio’s “Doctor Strange” ruled the local box office. From Friday to Sunday, the Disney-distributed film sold 540,000 tickets, accounting for 38.9 percent of the weekend’s entire ticket sales, according to the Korean Film Council. Over three days, the movie earned 5.1 billion won ($4.57 million) at 951 screens nationwide.

The CGI-filled hero film, directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton, has been holding onto the top spot in the Korean box office for 20 consecutive days since its Oct. 26 release, leading to the impressive 42.5 billion won total ticket sales.

Local drama “Split” notched the second spot in its first weekend by raking in a total of 336,000 admissions. Helmed by rookie director Choi Kook-hee and starring actors Yoo Ji-tae and Lee David, the film follows a fallen bowling pro (Yoo), who gets involved in underground gambling world after no longer being able to compete after a car accident leaves him disabled. Lee plays an autistic bowling genius, who is enticed by the fallen bowler to join him in betting.

The exciting and heartwarming story, which Yoo praised as “different from conventional gambling films,” has worked to attract a total of 3.6 billion won since the release on Nov. 9.

The local action-comedy “Luck-Key” slipped to third from the second spot, but still managed to sell 245,000 tickets in its fifth weekend. Despite being a comedy, the film is nearing seven million mark, an uncommon achievement for comedy.

American horror film “Ouija: Origin of Evil” came in fourth in its first weekend, which was followed by Japanese animation “Gamba,” which hit local theaters on Nov. 10.

Another Japanese film “If Cats Disappeared From the World,” which was adapted from the Japanese novel that goes by the same title, was sixth for the weekend.

The documentary “Moo-hyun, the Story of Two Cities,” which depicts the life of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, ranked seventh.

And Japanese action-adventure “Shuriken Sentai Ninninger vs. ToQger the Movie: Ninjas in Wonderland” marked the eighth spot.

The ninth and tenth spots went to the re-release of 2004’s “The Notebook” and the American modern western film “Hell or High Water.”

BY JIN MIN-JI [[email protected]]