'Concrete Utopia' attracts 2 million moviegoers to date

Main poster for ″Concrete Utopia″ [LOTTE ENTERTAINMENT]

“Concrete Utopia,” which was released Aug. 9, has already attracted a total of 2 million moviegoers as of Tuesday, distributor Lotte Entertainment said the same day.

“Concrete Utopia” beat fellow summer Korean blockbuster “Smugglers” to top ticket sales at theaters, raking in a sales share of 53.4 percent over the weekend. This means that one out of two people who visited the cinema bought a ticket for the film.

“Smugglers” had kept its top place at the box office for two consecutive weeks since its release, surpassing its breakeven point and recording 4.35 million ticket sales before giving up the top spot to “Concrete Utopia.”

“Concrete Utopia” is about the residents of a fictional Imperial Palace Apartment, the only building which was not destroyed by a disastrous earthquake that devastated most of Seoul. Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-jun and Park Bo-young star in the film.

“Concrete Utopia” and “Smugglers” are one of four domestically produced films expected to revive the stagnant film industry this summer, along with “The Moon” and “Ransomed.” Out of the four, “The Moon” and “Ransomed” has not gathered even a million moviegoers to date, and are unlikely to pass their breakeven points.

However, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” opening in theaters on Tuesday, is likely to change the box office race soon.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]