Korea Box Office: Yeon Sang-ho’s Cannes Midnight Screener ‘Colony’ Rockets to No. 1 With Dominant Opening

Fresh from its world premiere in the Midnight Screenings section of the Cannes Film Festival, Yeon Sang-ho‘s action-horror zombie extravaganza “Colony” re-energized the South Korean box office during the weekend of May 22–24.

According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the big-budget feature grossed a spectacular $9.4 million from 1,283,343 admissions over the three-day frame, capturing a dominant 71.85% of the total market revenue.

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Distributed by Showbox, the film has brought its cumulative total to $10.9 million from 1,501,633 admissions since its wide theatrical launch on May 21. The survival thriller marks the filmmaker’s high-profile return to the signature zombie architecture of “Train to Busan.” It was the eighth highest grossing film in the world, per Comscore.

The astronomical debut of the local heavyweight pushed pop biopic “Michael” down to second place. The musical drama pulled in $1.9 million over its sophomore weekend, maintaining a steady 15.04% share of the market. The film has now pushed its cumulative South Korean cume to a healthy $7.9 million from 1,075,229 admissions since its May 13 premiere.

“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” slipped one spot to third, adding $372,363 to its ledger. The film now has a cumulative gross of $9.8 million from 1,538,814 total admissions.

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” placed fourth, pulling in $335,728 from 44,951 tickets over the three-day window. The film now has a cumulative total of $10.3 million.

The Japanese animated feature “Gintama: Yoshiwara in Flames” opened in fifth place, drawing $191,216 over the three-day period. Directed by Naoya Ando, the film retells the iconic manga arc with brand-new subplots. ince its May 20 launch, the film has grossed $322,235.

Long-running independent horror-thriller “Salmokji : Whispering Water” moved to sixth place, adding $176,284. The Lee Sang-min genre standout has maintained extraordinary longevity, amassing a cumulative total of $21.8 million from 3,222,502 admissions since its early April wide release.

Hollywood science-fiction epic “Project Hail Mary” took seventh place, filtering in an additional $115,367 to stretch its South Korean lifetime gross to $21.5 million. It was followed in eighth place by the Canadian meta-comedy “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” which debuted with $98,358 over the frame for a total cume of $157,521.

Rounding out the lower rungs of the top ten were two Japanese animated features: “Anpanman: Baikinman and Lulun in the Picture Book,” which debuted in ninth place with $69,015 following its May 23 release, and “The Dangers in My Heart: The Movie,” which landed in tenth with a weekend gross of $94,847 and a total cume of $123,537.

The overall market collective gross for the weekend was $13.1 million, up from last week’s $6.8 million.