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'Harbin' starts strong at the box office with 550,000 advance reservations

Published: 24 Dec. 2024, 09:44 Updated: 24 Dec. 2024, 10:37

YOON SO-YEON
[email protected]

A still image of "Harbin" [CJ ENM]

The historical drama film “Harbin” started strong on its opening day at the box office, with 550,000 advance ticket reservations.

As of 8:50 a.m. Tuesday, the release day, approximately 554,000 tickets had been booked for the film, accounting for 56.2 percent of all advance ticket sales for movies currently showing in local theaters, according to the Korean Film Council.

Set in 1909, the espionage thriller depicts a tense mission in Harbin, northern China, featuring Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (1879–1910), who assassinated Hirobumi Ito, Japan's first prime minister and resident-general of Korea, at Harbin Station. Korea was under brutal Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.

Hyun Bin stars as Ahn, supported by an ensemble cast that includes Park Jung-min, Jeon Yeo-been, Jo Woo-jin, Yoo Jae-myung, Park Hoon and Lee Dong-wook.

With production costs exceeding 30 billion won ($20.6 million), the film marks the latest offering from director Woo Min-ho, acclaimed for exploring historical and political narratives in works like “The Man Standing Next” (2020) and “Inside Man” (2015).

Building on its strong opening performance, “Harbin” is set to challenge the current box-office leader, “Firefighter,” which has amassed over 2.6 million cumulative viewers.

BY YOON SO-YEON, YONHAP [[email protected]]