Seen in Jeonju

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Korean Box Office: Sept. 30- Oct. 2

2nd October 2011

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Since opening, Silenced has made quite a name for itself and it won’t quickly be forgotten.  It consequences of the film have been appearing nightly on the news as the real-life case the movie is based on the the actions of authority figures are now under investigation. The film has also served as a catalyst that has strengthened the voice of the disabled community. Images of small, peaceful demonstrations have been appearing each night on the news as advocates promote stronger laws to protect the disabled from sexual predators. I think the last time I saw a movie have this much of an impact on society was when Whispering Corridors launched outcries against corporal punishment in the school system. I have no doubt that Silenced will remain on top of the box office charts next week as well.

Opening this week: 

Toohon (kr) (no English name yet), drama, directed by Kim Sang-jin, starring Kim Joo-hyeok and Kim Seon-ah.   

Gigola (fr), drama, directed by Laure Charpentier, starring Lou Doillon, Marie Kremer.    

Revenge: a Love Story (hk), thriller, directed by Wong Ching-po, starring Juno Mak and Sola Aoi

Nader and Simin: a Separation (ir), drama, directed by Asghar Farhadi, starring  Leila Hatami and Peyman Moaadi.

K-20: Legend of the Mask (jp), action, directed by Shimako Sato, starring Takeshi Kaneshiro and Takako Matsu.   

All That I Love (pl), drama, directed by Jacek Borcuch, starring Mateusz Kosciukiewicz and Olga Frycz.    

Apollo 18 (us), sf/horror, directed by Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego

Debt (us), thriller/drama, directed by John Madden, starring Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington <being released in Korea as Unfinished>

Stone (us), thriller, directed by John Curran, Robert De Niro and Edward Norton.  

Urban Warfare (us), action, directed by Keoni Waxman, starring Stephen Seagal, Meghan Ory <being released in Korea as City War>

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Korean Box Office: Sept. 23-25

28th September 2011

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Korean Box Office: September 16-18

20th September 2011

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Arrow: The Ultimate Weapon managed to reclaim it spot as the leader of the box office charts over Marrying the Mafia 4, but just barely.  In fact, here in North Jeolla Province, the situation was actually reversed and Marrying the Mafia beat out Arrow by 2 percentage points. It will be interesting to see which of those two films will come out on top next week, or if the new film Dogani –which landed in number 5 with just a test opening–will knock them back when it officially opens this coming Thursday.  As predicted, the only new film that opened last week that appeared in the top ten was Shark Night– and I think the only reason it appeared at all was because of the 3D gimmick. Of the new movies opening this week, besides Dogani, the one most likely to appear high in the box office charts is the medical thriller Contagion

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Korean Box Office: September 9-11

11th September 2011

Last week, I had not posted the box office totals.  As I said in my last post, I was very busy with the start of school.. but as I had written it all out by hand in the notebook I keep I probably could have taken some time to post it..   Anyway, I do have this weeks ready for you. With lots of new movies for the holiday that started September 11 and will run through the 13, there were lots of new movies. In fact, 6 out of the top ten films are new to theaters. 

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The film Arrow: The Ultimate Weapon fared very well depsite the onslaught of new movies and the fact that it has now been in theaters for a full month. It fell just one place behind the number one movie this week, the comedy Marrying the Mafia 4.  Hindsight  (the official English name of the move whose Korean title is Blue Salt)dropped like a stone and fell five places. In fact, I would normally expect it to fall out of the box office all together next week except for the fact that only 4 new films are opening this coming week and surprisingly, the ‘best’ of them seems to be Shark Night… I guess it is a chance to catch up on some of the older films I have not seen yet. 

Happy Chuseok!

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Korean Box Office: August 26-28

29th August 2011

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We are down to the last week of August! The new semester here in Jeonju starts this Thursday, August 1.  Some places have already gone back to school, but I still have a few days to enjoy the hot, humid weather…   Well, last week I mentioned that there would not be much change in the upper half of the box office despite no less than a dozen new movies opening. It turned out that I was right. The same six films that were in the top last week, are there again. The only change was that Leafie rose to 4th while the Smurfs slipped to 5th.  No new movies opened higher than the 7th place spot.  Of course, that will change this coming week. Blue Salt is going to make its presence known in a big way.  The other movies being released this week are listed below.

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Blue Salt (kr)– d. Lee Hyeon-seung, starring Song Kang-ho, Shin Se-kyeong www.bluesalt2011.co.kr

Columbiana (us)– d. Olivier Megaton, starring Zoe Saldana, Michael Vartan www.columbiana.co.kr

Dance Town (kr)– d. Jeon Jin-gyu, starring Ra Mi-ran, Oh Seong-tae

Dream Factory (kr)– d. Kim Seong-gyun <documentary>

Elbow Room (kr)– d. Ham Kyeong-rok, starring Park Ji-won, Shin Yeon-sook

Themselves (kr)– d. Yoon Tae-shik, starring Ko Soo-hee, Kim Jin-yi

White Noise 2 (us)– d. Patrick Lussier, starring Nathan Fillion, Katee Sackhoff

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Korean Box Office: August 19-21

22nd August 2011

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The new film Arrow: The Ultimate Weapon is full of surprises.  Not only did it successfully fend of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes to maintain the number one place in the box office, but it also has already had more viewers than the heavily advertised summer blockbusters Sector 7 and Quick.  Between those three Korean-made films, Sector 3 was the clear loser, plummeting five places this week with two-million-plus viewers. It may just barely reach 2.5 million before closing in theaters.  We are now in the final week of summer and there are many movies opening this coming week to try to get viewers into the theater before they head back to school.  However, looking over them, there is not much there that will cause much shuffling in the upper tiers of the box office charts. Details on the films are listed below, after the image.

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Bbongddol (kr)– d. Oh Myeol, starring Kim Min-hyeok, Lee Kyeong-joon

Bridesmaids (us)– d. Paul Feig, starring Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne www.bridesmaids.kr

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (fr) — d. Jan Kounen, Anna Mouglalis, Mads Mikkelsen

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (us)– d. Troy Nixey, starring Katie Holmes, Guy Pierce www.dontbeafraid.kr

Drive Angry (us) –d. Patrick Lussier, starring Nicholas Cage, Amber Heard www.driveangry3d.co.kr

Eoigeu Jeo Guitgeot (kr)– d. Oh Myeol, starring Oh Yeong-soon, Moon Seok-beom

Hangover 2 (us)– d. Todd Phillips, starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms www.hangover2.kr

Hoshi O Ou Kodomo (jp)– d. Makoto Shinkai, voiced by Sumi Shinamoto, Fumiko Orikasa

Invasion of the Alien Bikini (kr)– d. Oh Yeong-doo, starring Hong Yeong-geun, Han Eun-jeong

Public Enemy No. 1 (fr)– d. Jean Francois Richet, starring Vincent Cassel, Gerard Depardieu

Shaolin (hk)– d. Benny Chan, starring Andy Lau, Jackie Chan www.shaolin.kr

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Korean Box Office: August 12-14

14th August 2011

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There was a lot of movement in the box office this past weekend as three new films pushed the long-time place holders downward and in some cases the drop turned into a plummet. Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon… which I think I will just call Arrow anytime I have to refer to it… took the first place position.  Blind came in second but, if you take into account that it had half the number of screens as Arrow, then the former managed to keep pace quite well.  I was a little surprised to see that Smurfs landed in third considering the horrible reviews I had read online and I was equally surprised to see how quickly Front Line has fallen, moving from third to eighth. Next week there are nine new films entering the fray, but The Rise of the Planet of the Apes will probably have the largest impact. The movies opening next week are, as always, listed below:

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.hack//quantum (jp)– d. Masaki Tachibana, voiced by Masami Iwasaki www.dothackmovie.com

Exit Through the Gift Shop (us)– d. Banksy <documentary>

Helen the Baby Fox (jp)– d. Keita Kono <documentary>

Hong Gil-Dong 2084 (kr)– d. Lee Jeong-in, voiced by Dong-ho, Uhm Seong-hyeon

Jasper (de)– d. Eckart Finberg

Larry Crowne (us)– d. Tom Hanks, starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts http://crowne2011.co.kr <opening in Korea as Romantic Crowne>

One Life (uk)– Michael Gunton, Martha Holmes <documentary>– www.onelife2011.com

Rise of the Planet of the  Apes (us) — d. Rupert Wyatt, starring James Franco, Freida Pinto www.apeswillrise.co.kr

Three Idiots (in)– d. Raikumar Hirani, starring Aamir Kahn, Madhaven www.3idiots2011.co.kr

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Korean Box Office: August 5-7

8th August 2011

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Depsite the horrible reviews the movie has been getting, including my own, Sector 7 wound up in the first ranked tier this past weekend as predicted. The vastly superior Front Line was knocked back to third. Surprisingly, Quick was able to maintain its position during the shuffle and the animated film Leafie: a Hen into the Wild rose one level from the previous week. I am not surprised to see the new ghost film Gisaeng Ryeong opening near the bottom of the chart.  The film has a rating for viewers over 18 which effectively cut out most of its potential audience and the trailer made the film seem somewhat stale– it could have been any number of horror films we’ve seen before. I’ll give it a chance when it comes to tv, but I won’t pay the theater prices for it.  Below are the movies opening this coming week.

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Blind (kr)– d. Ahn Sang-hoon, starring Kim Ha-neul, Yoo Seung-ho www.blind2011.co,kr

ChoiJongByeongGi Hwal (kr)– d. Kim Han-min, starring Park Hae-il, Ryu Seung-ryong  www.2011hoot.co.kr

Clash (vietnam)– d. Le Thanh Son, starring Johnny Nguyen

Cowboys and Aliens (us)– d. Jon Favreau, starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford www.cowboysandaliens.co.kr

E.T. (us)– Yes, that ET from 1982–it is getting a re-release for the summer

Gantz: Perfect Answer (jp)– d. Shinsuke Sato, starring Kazunari Ninomiya, Kenichi Matsuyama

 Sarah’s Key (fr)– d. Gilles Paquet-Brenner, starring Kristin Thomas, Melusine Mayance

 Smurfs (us)– d. Raja Gosnell, starring Neil Harris, Jayma May www.smurf3d.co.kr

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Korean Box Office: July 29-31

2nd August 2011

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Front Line and Quick both moved up in the ranks this week and were nearly neck-in-neck, taking the numbers one and two spots with just a mere .4 percent separating them.  As a month of summer vacation is now starting for elementary school students, lots of animated films are now in the box office- and four of them made it into the top ten. Leafie, a Hen Into the Wild took the lead among the cartoons and landed in 5th. (Last week it was in tenth place when it had a limited opening, but its official opening date was this past weekend which is why it is listed as ‘new’).  I always know when vacations starts because either a Doraemon or a Detective Conan movie opens.  Doraemon is here already, bringing up the bottom of the box office and Conan is opening this coming weekend. But far more important as far as the box office is concerned is the opening of Sector 7.  I have heard that it is very ‘Hollywood-ish”– heavy on special effects, light on plot– but I have a feeling that it will be ranked first next weekend.

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Detective Conan (jp)– d. Yasuichiro Yamamoto, voiced by Minami takayama, Wakana Yamazaki

Gisaeng Ryeong (kr)– d. Yang Yoon-ho, Ko Seok-jin, starring Han Eun-jeong, Hyo Min www.ghost2011.kr

Sector 7 (kr)– d. Kim Ji-hoon, starring Ha Ji-won, Ahn Seong-gi www.2011sector7.co.kr

Super Hybrid (us)– d. Eric Valette, starring Shannon Beckner, Oded Fehr

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Korean Box Office: July 22-24

26th July 2011

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 remains at the top of the box office while the former number two film, Transformers 3 falls to fourth place as the number of screens it was on was greatly reduced to make way for the big budget Korean War film Front Line.  Lee Min-ki’s motorcycle action film Quick, surprisingly, landed in number three with nearly a fifth of the box office totals. This year’s surprise hit, Sunny, finally relinquished the number 3 slot after two months near the top of the box office charts.  The comparitively low budget film wound up attracting more than 7 million viewers sans explosions,  car chases, grandiose special effects or robots. However, it is likely to drop out  of the top-ten next weekend as no less than 11 new films open. Of course, not all of them will make an impact on the box office charts, but with vacation starting for elementary schools, the animations will likely take over the lower tiers. For what is opening this week, just see below.

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1. Beast (kr)– Hwang Yoo-shik, starring Jeong Seok-won, Jeon Se-hong

2. Captain America (us)– d. Joe Johnston, starring Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones www.firstavenger.co.kr <opening as First Avenger>

3. Deep in the Valley (us)– d. Christian Forte, starring Chris Pratt, Brendan Hines

4. Doraemon (jp)– d. Yokiyo Teramoto, voiced by Tomokazu Seki, Yumi Kakazu www.doraemon-movie.co.kr

5. Gantz (jp)– d. Shinsuke Sato, voiced by Kazunari Ninomiya, Kenichi Matsuyama

6. Leafie: A Hen into the Wild (kr)– d. Oh Seong-yoon, voiced by Moon So-ri, Yoo Seung-ho www.madang2011.co.kr

7. Link (kr)– d. Woody Han, starring Ryu Deok-hwan, Kwak Ji-min

8. Lost Paradise (jp)– d. Yohimitsu Morita, starring Koji Yakusho, Hitomi Kuroki

9. My Heart Beats (kr)– d. Heo Eun-hee, starring Yoo Dong-sook, Byeon Ji-yeon

10. Patisserie Coin de Rue (jp)– d. Yoshihiro Fukagawa, starring Yu Aoi, Yosuke Eguchi

11. Rio (us)– d. Carlos Saldanha, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway www.riothemovie.co.kr

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