[HanCinema's News] "Revolver" Falls Off South Korean Box Office Following Minimal Impact

According to figures released by the Korean Film Council on August 17th, "Revolver" is the clear loser of the summer box office. While films like "Pilot" in its third week and Alien: Romulus in its first week are in fierce competition for first place, "Revolver" has fallen all the way down to thirteenth place. Even the children's movie "Heartsping : Teenieping of Love" has easily outperformed the cinematic crime drama, with 561,590 admissions to 234,294 for "Revolver" over the same ten days.

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How did "Revolver" turn in such a disastrous performance? Part of the issue may have just been an overestimation of how much of the South Korean box office is attainable for cinephile films. Director Oh Seung-wook and lead actress Jeon Do-yeon may be Cannes favorites, but "Revolver" itself was not a Cannes film. Negative online reviews from users were likewise unimpressed, causing a rapid drop-off for "Revolver" having only at best managing to go as high as third place.

If "Revolver" was overestimated, "Heartsping : Teenieping of Love" may have been underestimated. Inside Out 2 has been a huge hit in South Korea this summer with over eight million admissions, while Despicable Me 4 and the latest Detective Conan movie also had strong showings. It's probably unsurprising in this regard that a market which rewards children's entertainment has been comparatively cool for a film that was aimed at a highly specific subset of the adult population.

Written by William Schwartz