Korea Box Office: Financial Drama ‘Default’ Makes Top-Place Debut

Opening on Wednesday, local drama “Default” debuted on top of the South Korean box office. The CJ Entertainment release earned $11.5 million from 1.57 million admissions over its five opening days. Over the Friday-Sunday weekend, it earned $8.44 million from 1.07 million admissions and accounted for 42% of the total weekend revenues.

Starring some of South Korea’s top stars including Kim Hye-soo and Yoo Ah-in, and French actor Vincent Cassel, the film depicts the back story of the IMF negotiations during the financial crisis in South Korea in 1997.

Fox’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” slipped to second place, earning $6.53 million between Friday and Sunday for a total of $47.5 million after five weekends. The biographical film accounted for 32% of the weekend box office.

Showbox’s “Unstoppable” also slipped to third from the previous weekend’s second. The crime actioner earned $1.74 million for a total of $11.0 million after two weekends.

Wednesday opener, “Robin Hood” debuted in fourth. It earned $1.6 million over opening five days.

Lotte Cultureworks’ “Intimate Strangers” and Warner Bros.’ “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” took fifth and sixth places, respectively. Local comedy “Strangers” earned $828,000 between for a five-weekend total of $38.8 million. Incurring a sharp week-on-week drop of 76%, “Fantastic Beasts” earned $682,000 over the weekend to extend its total to $18.4 million after three weekends.

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