[HanCinema's Box Office Review] 2017.03.03 - 2017.03.05

New arrivals "Logan" and "Bluebeard" capture 64% of the sales...

The tenth instalment in the "X-Men" film series, James Mangold's "Logan" (Hugh Jackman), dislodged last weekend's number one, Split, by capturing 632,997 admissions (38.55%). Marvel's latest had its premiere back in February at the Berlin International Film Festival and recently arrived in Korea to 954 screens around the country. Critics have praised the film for its acting and general handling of perhaps the series's most beloved superhero, Wolverine, and it's already surpassed its production costs of $97 million; currently, the film has grossed $104.7 million worldwide.

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Lee Soo-yeon's third feature film was the highest new local entry this week; "Bluebeard", starring Cho Jin-woong, claimed 25.24% of the box office pie (433,187 admissions) from 914 screens. Lee's new film is a psychological thriller about a detective on a serial killer's trial after a dismembered body is found floating on the Han River in Seoul. "Logan" and "Bluebeard" together captured 63.8% of the sales and forced last weekend's top film down to third.

Before the arrival of "Logan", M. Night Shyamalan's Split was the first foreign film to rise to the top of Korea's box office this year. The film entered the fray last week in first with 698,852 admissions (33.64%), but week two for Shyamalan's thriller-horror saw that figure fall to 179,127 (10.61%), which moves Split's new total in Korea now to 1.5 million ($10.7 million). Last weekend's number two, Kim Tae-yoon's "New Trial" (Jung Woo, Kang Ha-neul, and Kim Hae-sook), was up next in fourth with 133,658 admissions (7.69%). This is the third week for Kim's third film, and with this week's haul considered, "New Trial" has banked $15.6 million (2.2 million admissions) since its release mid-February.

DreamWorks Animation's "Trolls" (directed by Mike Mitchell) once again remained unmoved in fifth; the film has occupied the same spot since its arrival in Korea on February 16. From 395 screens, "Trolls" added 48,030 to bring its total tally now to 642,719 ($4.1 million). Not far behind DreamWork's take on Walt Dohrn's Troll dolls entered another new local film: the theatrical version of the drama "Snowy Road - Theatrical Version" by Lee Na-jeong starring Kim Hyang-gi, Kim Sae-ron and Seo Young-joo. This is Lee's debut feature film whose previous works include the dramas "Just You" (2011), "Nice Guy" (2012), and "Oh My Venus" (2015). From 449 screens, "Snowy Road" attracted the interest of 39,393 filmgoers (2.12%).

The critically acclaimed "La La Land" (Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone) by Damien Chazelle made a return to the top ten this weekend having walked away from the Oscars recently with six awards, including Best Director, Best Actress, Best Original Score and Best Production Design. "La La Land"'s return added another 29,823 admissions (1.7%), which brings its new bottom line in Korea now to $24.3 million (3.3 million admissions); worldwide, "La La Land" has banked an estimated $371.5 million.

The high-octane action flick "Fabricated City" by Bae Jong failed to impress both critics and filmgoers alike, and as a result Park's sophomore feature plummeted from third to eighth with its 29,823 admissions (1.7%). However, the film's initial success puts the film's total gross in Korea now at $17.2 million (2.4 million admissions). Barry Jenkins's "Moonlight" won the prestigious Best Picture award at the Oscars, and, like "La La Land", it returned to make another appearance in Korea's top ten and filmgoers rushed to catch it on the big screen. "Moonlight" attracted 28,873 admissions (1.7%) from 180 screens and moved its total admission count in Korea to 105,285 ($739,840). Lastly, the first weekend of March was rounded out by Martin Scorsese's adaptation of Shūsaku Endō's 1966 novel of the same name; from 342 screens, Silence captured 1.3% of the sales (23,849 admissions).

Korean Box Office - Admissions for the Weekend 2017.03.03 - 2017.03.05 (www.kobis.or.kr)

- Chris Wheeler (chriscjw@gmail.com)