Seen in Jeonju

Korean Box Office: October 16-18

18th October 2009

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It’s already time for universities to give students mid-term exams and fall is deeply entrenched. Gone are the summer audiences that flocked to see the latest films. District 9 was the only film able to clearly divide itself from the pack taking nearly three times the percentage of viewers that the number two film was able to earn. As expected, the new movie Busan did not do very well–(the actors chosen for the leads kept me away)–except in the city of Busan itself. There the movie ranked fourth in the box office charts.

Speaking of Busan… It will be interesting to see how Good Morning President does this week when it opens in theaters.  It was the opening film of this year’s Pusan International Film Festival and has been receiving quite a bit of attention from the press.

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A. Cake (can/us)- d. Nisha Ganatra, starring Heather Graham, Sandra Oh

B. Come Out Fighting (us)- d. Dito Montiel, starring Channing Tatum, Zulay Henao www.fighting2009.kr

C. Good Morning President (kr)- d. Jang Jin starring Lee Soon-jae, Jang Dong-geon www.president2009.co.kr

D. Grace Is Gone (us)- d. James C. Strouse, starring John Cusack, Shelan O’Keefe

E. Lala Sunshine (kr)- d. Kim Ah-ran, starring Yang Eun-yong, Lee Chan-yeong

F. Naruto: The Move (jp)- d. Masahiko Murata, starring Junko Takeuchi, Romi Pak www.naruto-movie.com

G. New York, I Love You (fr/us)- d. Shekhar Kapur et al, starring Natalie Portman, Orlando Bloom www.newyorklove.co.kr

H. Pandorum (us/ger)- d. Christian Alvart, starring Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster www.pandorum.co.kr

I. Rabbit and Lizard (kr)-d. Ju Ji-hong, starring Jang Hyeok, Seong Yoo-ri

One Response to “Korean Box Office: October 16-18”

  1. Q Says:

    Welcome back, Tom. I am glad DISTRICT 9 is doing well in Korea, although I still haven’t gotten over the dreadful fact that Koreans preferred the monumentally crappy MUMMY 3 over THE DARK NIGHT by almost one million tickets. GOOD MORNING, MR. PRESIDENT strikes me as a complete fantasy with no real political teeth: I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets a cold shoulder from the younger demographic, but who knows, people might flock to see just how “presidential” Jang Dong-gun might look.