Pixar's 'Elemental' is ninth best-selling animated film in Korea

A scene from the new Pixar animation ″Elemental″ [WALT DISNEY COMPANY KOREA]

"Elemental," the latest animated flick by Pixar, grossed 4 million tickets in Korea on Saturday to become the ninth best-selling animation film in the country.

"Elemental" surpassed 4 million tickets sold on Saturday afternoon, 32 days after it hit local theaters on June 14. The film had already surpassed ticket sales of that of all regions except North America earlier this month.

The film has been popular among Korean viewers for the many Korean elements seen in and outside of the film.

"Elemental" is about characters representing the four elements — fire, earth, air and water — living together in a metropolis.

The film was produced and directed by Korean American Peter Sohn, and its head animator is Korean American Lee Chae-yeon. It also includes various Korean and immigrant perspectives in the story, such as the importance of and pressure from family relationships and the struggles with discrimination that the main character Ember and her family face.

The best-selling animated film so far in Korea is "Frozen 2" (2019), which grossed 13.8 million tickets, followed by "Frozen" (2014) with 10.3 million and the Japanese animation movie "Suzume" (2022) with 5.5 million.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]