Bong Joon-ho's 'Mickey 17' takes top spot on North American box office
Published: 10 Mar. 2025, 17:24
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- KIM JI-YE
- [email protected]
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![A still from director Bong Joon-ho's sci-fi film ″Mickey 17″ [WARNER BROS. KOREA]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/03/10/15df39b6-19a7-49cf-8cd8-a1c0842fcd92.jpg)
A still from director Bong Joon-ho's sci-fi film ″Mickey 17″ [WARNER BROS. KOREA]
Director Bong Joon-ho’s latest film “Mickey 17” topped the North American box office over the weekend, a first-time feat for any Korean director.
The sci-fi film, released on March 7 in North America, was screened in 3,807 theaters and grossed a total of $19.1 million in two days, taking the No. 1 spot at the North American box office, according to Box Office Mojo on Sunday.
However, the North American response has fallen short of expectations, despite being Bong's biggest project since hit film "Parasite" in 2019. "Mickey 17" was earlier expected by insiders to earn around $20 million in North America during its opening week, according to local reports.
The film has grossed $34.2 million outside of North America, with a total of $53.3 million globally, as of Monday.
Among countries outside of North America, Korea had the highest earnings with $9 million during its opening week, followed by France with $2.9 million and Britain with $2.7 million.
Despite the remarkable $53.3 million revenue, "Mickey 17" needs $221.7 million more in earnings to break even. Warner Bros. reportedly spent $118 million on the film's production alone, with an additional $80 million on marketing expenses. A minimum of $275 million has to be made to turn profit, according to reports.
Still, the film is set on becoming one of the most successful films in Korea.
“Mickey 17,” which was released on Feb. 28 in Korea, recently surpassed 2 million ticket admissions in 10 days, making it the fastest film to reach this milestone among the releases this year, according to its domestic distributor Warner Bros. Korea on Monday.
The film surpassed the number on Sunday and has garnered 2,098,571 moviegoers as of Monday, according to the Korean Film Council’s integrated computer network for movie theater ticket sales.
Adapted from Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel "Mickey7," “Mickey 17” follows Mickey Barnes, an expendable employee that dies and is "printed" again after being sent to complete dangerous missions on Niflheim, a distant ice planet. The narrative takes a turn when Mickey 17, presumed dead, unexpectedly encounters Mickey 18, his newly regenerated successor.
It stars Robert Pattinson in the lead role, alongside Steven Yeun as Timo, Naomi Ackie as Nasha, Mark Ruffalo as Kenneth Marshall and Toni Collette as Ylfa, Kenneth’s wife.
BY KIM JI-YE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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