A hit in many markets around the world, Bad Boys 2 debuted disastrously at the Korean box office, grossing less than $1 million in its opening weekend.
Instead, “Wonderland,” a sci-fi fantasy about artificial intelligence, took the top spot for the weekend.
“Bad Boys 4” ranked fifth in its opening weekend, grossing just $520,000 over the Friday-Sunday weekend, or 8 percent of the South Korean market, according to data from Kobis, a tracking service run by the Korea Film Council (Kofic). It grossed just $803,000 in the five days since its release in theaters on Wednesday.
At this rate, it will be difficult to match the $3.54 million grossed by the South Korean film “Bad Boys for Life,” which was released in January 2020.
The competition was less fierce last weekend. The South Korean film “Wonderland” took the top spot with $1.66 million, but only 25 percent of the market, making it the second-lowest grossing film of the year. In its first five days, “Wonderland” made $3.21 million.
Indeed, South Korea's film market appears to be back in its pre-summer slump, with nationwide weekend box office takings coming in at just $6.5 million.
The acclaimed film “Wonderland,” directed by Kim Tae-yeon and starring Chinese actor Tang Wei and Korean actor Bae Suzy, tells two stories about an AI service that allows living people to stay in touch with simulated versions of their dead relatives. Both stories are punctuated with melodramatic twists — a daughter goes missing, a man wakes up from a coma — that leave the characters and the audience pondering.
After topping the Korean box office charts for the past two weeks, “Furiosa: Mad Max” dropped 38% in its third weekend, dropping from first to second place with $1.4 million. After 19 days in Korean cinemas, it has grossed $10.6 million. This makes “Furiosa” the eighth-ranked Korean film of the year and the fourth-ranked imported film.
The Korean film “Following” has maintained third place for three consecutive weeks, grossing $6.6 million and occupying a 10% market share. Nearly four weeks after its release, the film's cumulative gross is $7.75 million.
The South Korean action film “The Roundup: Punishment” came in fourth with $515,000 in its seventh weekend. The film, starring Don Lee, has made $79.2 million since its April 24 release.
The South Korean crime action movie “The Plot” dropped from second place to sixth place. Its second weekend box office gross was $368,000. Its 12-day total gross was $3.27 million.
The new Japanese anime film “Detective Conan vs. Kid the Phantom Thief” debuted in seventh place with $316,000 in weekend box office takings, and $627,000 in five days.
The new European arthouse film “The Zone of Interest” earned $245,000 over the weekend, placing it in eighth place. Its five-day total is now at $446,000.
The Japanese anime film “Haikyu!: The Great Dump Showdown” earned $173,000 in its third weekend, bringing its total to $4.69 million.
“Garfield the Movie,” which was also released three weeks earlier, earned $147,000 for a total of $2.12 million in three weeks, and is ranked ninth on the local charts after outselling “Haikyu!.”
