Gamer-friendly ‘Fabricated City’ tops ‘Assignment’

Movies

Published: 13 Feb. 2017, 18:56

Gamer-friendly ‘Fabricated City’ tops ‘Assignment’

Action flick “Fabricated City,” starring actor Ji Chang-wook, right, topped the local box office over the weekend, shoving aside “Confidential Assignment.” [CJ ENTERTAINMENT]

It was a triumphant weekend for local distributor CJ Entertainment, as another CJ crime action film debuted successfully by topping the weekend box office. “Fabricated City,” directed by Park Kwang-hyun of the 2005 hit “Welcome to Dongmakgol” and starring Ji Chang-wook, sold 890,000 tickets from Friday to Sunday at 1,019 screens, accounting for 37.1 percent of total weekend sales.

The film, which follows a jobless yet skilled gamer Gwon Yu (Ji) trying to clear himself of false criminal charges with the help of fellow gamers, hit the million ticket sales mark just four days after its release on Thursday, earning a total of 8.82 billion won ($7.9 million). The film is the first lead role on the silver screen for Ji, who has an almost decade-long acting career.

“Confidential Assignment” stayed strong in its fourth weekend. Though it slipped with 543,000 admissions sold, the film featuring actors Hyun Bin and Yoo Hai-jin and directed by Kim Seong-hun, still accounted for 22.9 percent of weekend sales, adding to its total 7.26 million admissions.

The Vin Diesel action sequel “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” debuted at third with 254,000 weekend sales, which was followed by “The King.” The NEW-distributed flick, which was seen as a strong rival of “Confidential Assignment” for starring high-profile actors like Jung Woo-sung and premiering on the same day ranked fourth after selling 114,000 tickets for the last three days.

The film, directed by Han Jae-rim of “The Face Reader” (2013) has so far sold a total 5.27 million tickets.

The science fiction drama “Arrival,” which has been nominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay, rounded out the top five in its second weekend.

“Fifty Shades Darker,” the second installment of Fifty Shades book, debuted at sixth. The erotic romance drama’s performance remains a question after the 2015 movie “Fifty Shades of Grey” was a complete failure in Korea despite being adapted from the best-selling book series.

The top ten was rounded out by four animated films including “Ballerina,” “Moana,” “The Lego Batman Movie” and “Detective Conan: Episode One,” as many families headed to the theaters during school vacation.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]