Latest Marvel Hit Commands 95% of the Sales

Despite rising COVID case numbers and significant Omicron variant fears, the Korean box office had its most impressive weekend since the start of the pandemic, as the year’s most hotly anticipated Hollywood conquered the global charts in a slew of record debuts. 1.83 million seats were filled over the weekend, an enormous 470% rise over the previous weekend, while the local market share dwindled to just 2%.

Proving the value of its A-list roster of characters, Marvel dominated the global box office with its latest smash Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film captured a 95% share of the Korean market over the weekend as it soared to a 1.74 million viewer (USD 15 million) three-day launch, with 2.77 million (USD 23.56 million) spectators counted over its first five days, by far the best opening recorded during the pandemic to date.

The film is poised to outpace Escape from Mogadishu early in the week to become the highest-grossing film of the year in the Korean market and will likely outstrip DELIVER US FROM EVIL (2020) to be the top-performing title of the entire pandemic in short order. The Sony-distributed titled has been debuting to similarly impressive numbers around the world, with many markets reporting launches rivaling some of the best pre-pandemic box office debuts.

With Spider-Man sucking up most of the business, it was slim pickings further down the chart.  The Disney animation Encanto occupied second place after a 64% slide, with 23,000 entries (USD 183,000 million) counted over the weekend, pushing its total to 580,000 admissions (USD 4.66 million).

The local romcom Nothing Serious was down 74% in third place, with 20,000 seats (USD 172,000) filled over the weekend and 575,000 tickets (USD 4.93 million) sold to date.

Local action-thriller Spiritwalker was down a hefty 84% with 12,000 new sales (USD 96,000), boosting its total to 803,000 entries (USD 6.59 million).

The animation Sword Art Online the Movie - Progressive - Aria of a Starless Night claimed fifth place with 4,000 viewers (USD 39,000) over the weekend and now has a running total of 24,000 sales (USD 222,000).

Though Spider-Man is unlikely to wind down any time soon, both The King's Man and The Matrix Resurrections should also drum up solid business over the coming weekend.