'Deliver Us From Evil' attracts over 1 million during the weekend

Actors Lee Jung-jae, left, and Park Jung-min send a thank you message to the audience after their action film "Deliver Us From Evil" surpassed 2 million in ticket sales. [CJ ENTERTAINMENT]

"Deliver Us From Evil," a homegrown action film, attracted over 1 million moviegoers in Korea over the weekend, bringing the number of accumulative viewers to over 2 million, data showed Monday.

The crime action thriller starring Hwang Jung-min and Lee Jung-jae attracted over 1 million moviegoers between Saturday and Sunday, according to data from the Korean Film Council.

Combined audience members for "Evil" reached 2.02 million within five days, breaking the 2 million mark two days faster than director Yeon Sang-ho's zombie blockbuster "Peninsula."

Directed by Hong Won-chan, the film follows the story of In-nam, an assassin played by Hwang who becomes embroiled in unexpected incidents as Ray, played by Lee, pursues him to avenge his dead brother.

Political action film "Steel Rain 2: Summit" came in second, drawing 155,814 attendees, with the number of accumulative viewers reaching 1.54 million. "Peninsula," sequel to 2016's top grossing film "Train to Busan," finished third, with 74,279 viewers. The film's combined attendees reached 3.69 million.

"Evil" has also apparently given a much-needed boost to the film industry in terms of drawing people to the box office.

The number of daily moviegoers reached 729,450 on Saturday, setting the biggest daily high since the 1.22 million figure on Jan. 27, just before the mass outbreak of Covid-19.

Due to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Korean box office was in a deep slump for about four months, with daily admissions slumping to as low as 15,000 in April.

Yonhap