Box office revenue in May nearly quadruples on month

"The Roundup," a film starring actor Ma Dong-seok and the highly anticipated sequel to the 2017 film "The Outlaws," is a huge ticket-seller at the local box office. [YONHAP]

Due to the popularity of “The Roundup,” which surpassed 10 million in ticket sales Sunday, the monthly box office revenue for May nearly quadrupled compared to April, according to a report released by the Korea Film Council (Kofic) Thursday.

The revenue for May was 150.8 billion won ($117.1 million), an increase by 395.6 percent compared to the month before. The total number of moviegoers was 14.55 million, a 366.7 percent increase compared to April.

Kofic credited two blockbusters — Marvel film “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “The Roundup” — to have played critical roles in reviving the cinema industry last month: The former recorded 61.8 billion won and the latter recorded 72.5 billion won, combining for a total of 90 percent of the ticket sales.

“The Roundup,” in particular, rounded up 7.73 million ticket sales in May alone since its release on May 18. “Doctor Strange” sold 5.8 million tickets last month.

A total of 29.5 million people went to theaters from January through May, a nearly double the 15.1 million moviegoers during the same period last year.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]