The epidemic in South Korea continues to worsen, and the number of new confirmed cases in a single day has soared to more than 1,500, setting the worst record since the outbreak of the epidemic, and the authorities have raised the epidemic prevention response in the capital circle to the highest level since Monday, tightening the control of public places such as restaurants and theaters. Last week, the South Korean market was stimulated by the opening of "Black Widow", and the number of weekend moviegoers soared to more than 1.2 million, soaring by about 70% month-on-month, setting a new high in the past year. In terms of film rankings, "Black Widow" mobilized nearly one million people to celebrate the opening weekend, and there was no suspense to reach the top of the weekend box office. The local suspense film "Limit Calling" fell by more than 70% by the impact of the new film, retreating to the second place in the weekend box office. Disney's new work "Black and White Witch Kuira" also fell by about 60%, retreating to the third place in the weekend box office list. The Korean and Thai co-production horror film "Psychic Medium" was screened well on the weekend and ranked fourth in the weekend list. Hollywood's old film "A Quiet Place 2" plunged more than 75% from the previous week and retreated to the fifth place in the weekend box office list.
Marvel's latest independent film "Black Widow" was first drawn in South Korea last Wednesday, mobilizing nearly 200,000 people on the first day to win the show, setting the best non-holiday opening of the year. The film was expanded to 2,526 screens on Friday, with an average of 11,500 screenings per day on weekends, the largest starting scale during the pandemic. The new work of the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" mobilized 984,500 people to win the weekend, easily surpassing the best opening performance of the year set by "Fast and Furious 9", and the opening performance was second only to the local blockbuster "Busan Line 2" (1.2 million people in the first three days of the first weekend). "Black Widow" won the box office with more than 80% of the market share at the weekend, and deservedly played the top pillar of the market. Directed by Kate Sauterland and starring Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pew, Rachel Vichy and others, the film tells the story of Black Widow who will face the darker experiences of a dangerous conspiracy related to her past. Counting the results of Wednesday and Thursday, "Black Widow" mobilized 1.366 million people in its first week and earned $12.2 million at the box office, leading the first batch of more than 40 overseas markets. With its current opening performance, "Black Widow" should be able to steal the annual champion position of "Rapid 9".
South Korea's local film "Restricted Calls" was cut to 680 screen screenings on the weekend, with a total of 4585 screenings in three days on the weekend, and the average number of people per game also fell to about 14 people, suffering a greater impact of "Black Widow". Created by the team behind Parasite and BaldUrban: Volcano Havoc, the thriller action film attracted another 65,600 viewers over the weekend, and the weekend market share fell to 5.2%. As South Korea's local champion of the year, the film plummeted 72% from the previous weekend, and in the 19 days of release, it has mobilized 894,000 viewers and the cumulative box office has risen to more than $7.5 million. Starring zhao Yuzhen, Lee Jae-jin and Chi Chang-wook, this topical work has now surpassed Hollywood works such as "A Quiet Place 2" and risen to the seventh place in the annual box office list. According to the current momentum, the film will also become the first local film in the Korean market to break the million-person mark this year.
Disney's crime comedy "Black and White Witch Kuira" was reduced to 540 screens on the weekend, and the number of screenings fell to about 3460, and the average number of people per game fell to about 18 people. Starring Emma Stone, Emma Thompson and Mark Strong, the film mobilized 60,600 viewers over three days over the weekend, ranking third at the weekend box office after "Limit Calls" by a small margin. The film fell 63% from the previous weekend and was also hit hard by "Black Widow", which has now reached 1.856 million people in South Korea, and the cumulative box office has risen to 15.8 million US dollars, temporarily ranking fourth in South Korea's box office in 2021. As of now, the global box office of "Kuila" has risen to $220 million, and the South Korean market performance is second only to the North American hometown and Chinese mainland.
The Thai horror film "Psychic Medium", which was participated by South Korean screenwriter and director Luo Hongyun, was screened on nearly 500 screens last weekend, screening a total of 815 times in three days, and recorded an average of about 54 people. The film attracted more than 44,000 spectators in two days of on-demand screening, ranking fourth on the list, and performed quite well. The Medium tells the story of the Isan region of Thailand, a place inherited by a shaman, who seems to be possessed by a goddess who is possessed by a family member, and is not as kind as she initially seems. This summer season, Hollywood and local horror movies such as "A Quiet Place 2", "Strange House", "The Conjuring 3" and so on have performed remarkablely, and "Psychic Medium" will compete with "Black Widow" for the championship this weekend.
The Hollywood thriller "A Quiet Place 2" was cut to 382 screen screenings on the weekend, with an average of more than 550 screenings per day, and an average of about 14 people per game. Written and directed by Johann Krasinski and starring Emily Brontë, the new work mobilized 22,800 spectators over three days over the weekend, plunging 76% from the impact of the new film and retreating to fifth place on the weekend list. After 26 days of release, the cumulative number of people in South Korea has reached more than 842,000, and the cumulative box office has also reached 7.33 million US dollars. According to the momentum of motherhood, "A Quiet Place 2" is expected to hit the final box office in South Korea around $8 million.
Pixar Animation's new work "Summer Friends Sunny Day" was cut to 360 screens on the weekend, screening nearly 1300 times in three days, and the average number of people per game fell to about 13 people. The original animation mobilized another 16,900 spectators over the weekend, retreating to sixth place on the weekend list. The film plummeted 72% from the previous weekend and was one of the victims of the opening of "Black Widow", which has now reached 357,000 people and a cumulative box office of $2.87 million. As of now, the film's box office has surpassed the final result of "Dragon Quest" released in South Korea (322,000 visits, 2.6 million US dollars), and its final number is expected to hit more than 400,000.
The other two horror films have reached the end of the crossbow, and the local horror film "Strange House" mobilized more than 5,000 viewers on 62 screens on the weekend, returning to the top ten of the weekend, and the cumulative number of moviegoers has reached 26,700, and the performance is far from other Hollywood horror films. Hollywood horror sequel "The Conjuring 3" attracted another 3,845 spectators over the weekend, and the cumulative number of people in the 38 days of release has reached 796,000, and the final number of people will just grind past the 800,000 mark.
The American action film "The Killer Wife's Bodyguard" was cut to 140 screen screenings over the weekend, with less than 500 screenings in three days, and the average performance was also in the bottom ten. Starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, the sequel mobilized more than 3,500 viewers in South Korea over the weekend, plunging 93% from the previous weekend and now reaching 378,000 and grossing $3.26 million.