‘Moana 2’ makes impressive debut at Korea box office as ‘Wicked’ trails | News

Disney’s Moana 2 surged to the top of the Korean box office on its opening weekend, commanding 58% of ticket sales on one of the busiest weekends of the year.

The animated sequel earned an impressive $7.1m from Friday through Sunday (November 29 – December 1), according to data provided by Kobis, the Korean Film Council’s box office tracking service.

The sturdy performance appears to have revitalised a sluggish Korean box office that had seen weekend earnings dip below $10m for 10 consecutive weeks. Within its first five days in theatres, the film has racked up a cume of $8.9m, already positioning it as the 20^th highest-grossing film of the year. Its 2016 prequel’s earnings stand at around $12.8m.

Trailing far behind was Wicked with $2.4m in its second weekend. Jon M. Chu’s musical adaptation has taken $8.4m in the territory to date.

In third was NEW’s mystery thriller Hidden Face with $1.4m. Directed by Kim Dae-woo (The Servant, Obsessed) and starring Cho Yeo-jeong of Oscar-winner Parasite, the film has grossed $4.8m since opening on November 20.

In fourth place was Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II with $432,000, a piercing drop of 56% compared to its earnings from last weekend. Now in its third weekend, the historical epic has accumulated $6m.

The Korean remake of Taiwanese romance Hear Me: Our Summer took fifth place with $228,000, pushing its cume to $5.2m.

Ahead of its opening on Wednesday (December 4), One Win landed at sixth place with $82,400 worth of pre-sales. Directed by Cobweb’s Shin Yeon-shick, the film stars Parasite actor Song Kang-ho as the coach of an underdog women’s volleyball team. Handled by K-Movie, the sports drama premiered at Rotterdam in 2023.

Seventh and eighth place were taken by two live concert films: Yorushika Live 2024 “Moon and Cat Dance” and Baekhyun’s Lonsdaleite Dot with $70,000 and $66,000 respectively. Despite the premium-priced tickets, concert films appear to consistently attract dedicated fans of musicians and K-pop idols.

In ninth was My Hero Academia: You’re Next from the popular Japanese manga series with $58,000.

About Family scraped into the top ten in its debut weekend with $39,000. The film marks the return of director Wooseok Yang, best known for his Steel Rain series and The Attorney, and its cast is led by Kim Yoon-seok – from Mogadishu and Netflix’s The Frog – who plays the owner of a dumpling restaurant whose son, played by Lee Seung-ki, becomes a monk.