HONG KONG – “Transformers 4” topped the Korean box office for the second week, but the Autobots only had a narrow win over local Korean movies “The Divine Move.”
The Michael Bay-directed “Transformers: Age of Extinction” smashed and blasted its way to a further 961,000 ticket sales (worth $8.06 million), according to date from the Korean Film Council’s KOBIS service. That was a 48% drop compared with the opening frame, but was still enough to give it a cume of 4.16 million spectators ($33.8 million) since its 25 June release.
Korean films, which have been somewhat sidelined in a summer of successive Hollywood blockbusters, got themselves a new champion with Showbox’s gambling drama thriller “The Divine Move,” which clocked up ticket sales of 925,000 (worth $7.66 million) over the weekend and 1.18 million ($9.92 million) including earlier numbers. (Rentrak data says that “Divine Move” grossed $8.75 million.)
Another Korean film, horror, “The Mourning Grave,” managed 216,000 for a ticket sales cume of 293,000 ($2.20 million), according to KOBIS.
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“Edge of Tomorrow,” held fourth after dropping 40% to score 125,000 additional ticket sales ($993,000) and keep its cume of 4.60 million ($37.7 million) still just ahead of “Transformers.”
In fifth place, Korean drama, “A Hard Day” continued its longevity at the Korean box office and added 114,000 ticket sales ($915,000) in its sixth week on release, lifting its ticket sales cume to 3.08 million $26.1 million).
South Korea was last year the world’s seventh largest theatrical market, ranking below India, but ahead of Russia and Germany.
