‘The Fortress’ holds strong over holiday weekend

Two new releases unveiled in time for the 10-day Chuseok holiday dominated screens over the weekend, pushing the action-packed “Kingsman” sequel down to the third spot.

The star-studded “The Fortress,” featuring Lee Byung-hun and Kim Yun-seok, is a period epic set in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Based on Jang Hoon’s best-selling novel and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk of “Miss Granny” (2014), CJ E&M’s latest release takes place in 1636, when China’s Qing Dynasty invaded Korea with 150,000 troops in an effort to sever Korea’s ties to the Ming Dynasty. The Korean court flees the capital to take shelter in the Namhan Fortress, in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, which is quickly surrounded by the Qing army, eventually forcing King Injo to surrender.

The movie sold 1.37 million tickets over the past three days, accounting for 33 percent of the entire weekend sales. Since it was released Oct. 3, the movie’s total sales has surpassed 3 million as of Monday.

“The Outlaws” came in at second with 1.13 million admissions sold, which made up 27.8 percent of the total weekend sales. Also released on Oct. 3, the film stars Ma Dong-seok and Yoon Kye-sang and has so far sold 1.81 million tickets.

Based on a true story, the movie revolves around a merciless boss (Yoon) from a Korean-Chinese crime organization headquartered in Harbin, northeast China, who is willing to commit any crime for money, and a police detective (Ma) who tries to catch the ruthless criminal and his henchmen.

“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” was pushed to third with 716,000 tickets sold. The action-packed spy comedy franchise, starring Colin Firth and Taron Egerton, has sold a total of 4.4 million tickets since its release on Sept. 27.

“Kingsman: The Secret Service,” the first in the film franchise, sold a total of 6.13 million tickets domestically two years ago.

“I Can Speak,” a heartwarming tale about a victim of Japanese wartime sexual slavery, arrived in fourth in its third weekend with 463,000 tickets sold, while the animated “The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature” rounded out the top five with 154,000 tickets sold.

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