Golden Globe-winning film 'Minari' tops Korean box office upon release

A scene from ″Minari" (2020). [PAN CINEMA]

Director Lee Isaac Chung’s Golden Globe-winning film “Minari” topped the Korean box office upon release, according to the Korean Box Office Information System on Thursday.

The movie hit Korean theaters on Wednesday and garnered an audience of 40 thousand on its first day; a slight increase from the average audience for last weekend’s number one movie, which was around 30 thousand a day.

Runner-up “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train” (2020), a Japanese animation, managed to attract 13-thousand moviegoers.

“Minari” tells the story of a Korean-American family trying to settle in 1980s rural Arkansas and is based on the director’s personal life.

The film has won more than 70 accolades so far, including a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film on Monday and three nominations for this April’s Screen Actors Guild Awards.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]