Korea Box Office: Topical Local Titles ‘Mayor,’ ‘Case Note’ Head Weekend

Two topical new releases, “The Mayor” and “The King’s Case Note,” landed on top of the South Korean box office.

Opening on Wednesday (Apr. 26), Showbox’s election drama “Mayor” scored $6.13 million from 904,000 admissions over five days. The Choi Min-shik-starrer sees an incumbent Seoul mayor seeking a third term and employing all means to keep his secrets hidden from the public. CJ’s costume drama “Case Note” debuted on the same day and earned $4.91 million from 722,000 admissions. The film sees the story of a king and his biographer investigating a crime that threatens the throne and the country. The two titles accounted for 60% of the total weekend box office.

South Korea goes to the polls next week (May 9) to elect a new president, after the last was impeached.

“The Fate of the Furious” incurred a drop of 50% and slipped to third place. The UPI release earned $2.61 million from 353,000 admissions between Friday and Sunday for a total of $23.1 million after three weekends.

Opening on Friday, Sony’s “Smurfs: The Lost Village” landed in fourth. The animated family drama earned $1.05 million between Friday and Sunday. The theatrical version of popular local children’s animation, “Tobot: The Attack of the Robot Army” opened on Thursday, earning $396,000 over four days and taking fifth place.

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