‘Hide and Seek’ stays No. 1 with surprising run

Korean movies continue to rule the box office as four of the top five films over the weekend were domestic releases, according to the Korean Film Council.

“Hide and Seek,” starring actor Son Hyun-joo, stayed on top for the second straight weekend, adding nearly 7.8 billion won ($7 million) from Friday to Sunday. The low budget 2.5 billion won thriller has surprised the local film industry, earning nearly 29 billion won since its release on Aug. 14.

Although director Huh Jung is relatively new to the movie scene, his film did feature several veteran actors and actresses, including Son Hyun-joo, Moon Jung-hee and Jeon Mi-seon.

The top Hollywood film was the magician-caper movie “Now You See Me,” which came second with 6.3 billion won.

Kim Sung-soo’s “The Flu” finished third, making 3 billion won over the weekend, followed by director Bong Joon-ho’s “Snowpiercer” at 2.4 billion won and director Kim Byeong-woo’s “The Terror, Live” at 1.3 billion won.

The Hollywood flop “R.I.P.D.” was dead on arrival in Korea, opening in seventh with 438 million won.

Wong Kar Wai’s “The Grandmaster” opened in eighth in a modest-sized release with 280 million won.

BY LEE SUN-MIN [summerlee@joongang.co.kr]