« Venom: La dernière danse » a dominé le box-office en Corée du Sud avec 2,66 millions de dollars ce week-end, atteignant 4,13 millions depuis son ouverture. Malgré ce succès, le film lutte pour surpasser « Venom: Let There Be Carnage » et reflète un ralentissement général des recettes cinématographiques dans le pays. Au total, le box-office n’a généré que 4,32 millions de dollars, marquant le week-end le plus faible de l’année. D’autres films, comme « Une famille normale » et « Love in the Big City », ont également vu leurs performances chuter.
« Venom: The Last Dance » emerged as the top film at the South Korean box office over the weekend, but it couldn’t pull the country’s cinema market out of its recent slump. According to data from Kobis, managed by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), the third installment in the « Venom » trilogy earned $2.66 million from Friday to Sunday, capturing a significant 62% market share. Over its first five days since debuting on Wednesday, the film grossed a total of $4.13 million. At this current pace, the new release may struggle to surpass the $15.2 million total of « Venom: Let There Be Carnage, » which was released in 2021 during the height of the COVID pandemic.
This situation reflects a structural slowdown in the Korean box office. Nationwide, domestic film revenues reached only $4.32 million last weekend, marking one of the weakest weekends of the year. Since the end of August, there has only been one weekend—during the Chuseok holiday—that surpassed $10 million in gross receipts.
Last weekend’s top performer, « A Normal Family, » slipped to the second position with earnings nearly halved. It brought in $728,000, down from $1.43 million during its opening weekend. After 12 days in theaters, it has accumulated $3.32 million. The third spot was taken by the Korean drama « Love in the Big City, » which made $419,000 over the weekend, totaling $5.07 million since its release on October 1. Debuting on the same day, the U.S. film « The Wild Robot » landed in fourth place, grossing $293,000 and bringing its total to $3.90 million.
« I, The Executioner, » a crime comedy that led the box office for a month from mid-September to mid-October, held onto the fifth position. Directed by Ryu Seung-wan, it added $234,000 for a total of $52 million. This figure ranks as the fourth highest box office total for a film this year in Korea and the third highest for a local production. However, with 7.5 million admissions to date, it lags behind the locally regarded blockbuster threshold of 10 million.
« Elizabeth, The Musical Live, » a filmed theatrical performance, ranked sixth in box office revenue in Korea, although it was lower in spectator counts. It earned $124,000 over the weekend, selling fewer than 7,000 tickets across approximately 120 screens, and has accumulated $534,000 since its release on October 16.
Based on the tragic tale of Empress Elisabeth of Austria—more widely known as the mythical « Sisi »—and narrated from the perspective of her condemned murderer, « Elizabeth » weaves a fatal love story intertwined with death. The script is penned by Michael Kunze with music by Sylvester Levay.
Lower down the chart, the re-released film « The Notebook » from 2004 earned $123,000 over the weekend, while the animated feature « Little Emma » debuted with $53,000 over three days. Another animated film, « Gracie and Pedro: Pets to the Rescue, » grossed $37,000. Pedro Almodovar’s « The Room Next Door » secured the ninth position (tenth in ticket sales), netting $44,000 for the weekend and $72,000 in its first five days.