Korea Box Office: Don Lee’s ‘The Roundup: Punishment’ Smashes Its Way to $29 Million Debut, Crushes ‘Challengers’
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Roundup: Punishment,” the fourth film in the Don Lee-starring crime action franchise, earned $20.8 million between Friday and Sunday and punched out all competition at the South Korean box office. “Challengers,” which headed the box office this weekend in North America, with $15 million, opened fourth in Korea a 0.5% market share. “Punishment” accounted for a crushing 94% market share and collected its weekend haul from 2.92 million ticket sales, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). The film opened officially on Wednesday, when it scored $4.92 million, and followed that with a $3.25 million Thursday. Including the weekday takings and a smattering of previews from the previous weekend, the film finished Sunday with a cumulative of $29.3 million, earned from 4.25 million spectators. The stellar performance was the biggest opening this year, ahead of February’s “Exhuma,” a spooky drama that earned $14.5 million on its February first weekend and picked up pace in its second week. Giant screen systems provider, Imax reports that “Punishment” earned $770,000 of its Korean score from just 24 screens.