태풍 (Typhoon): 560,000 Tickets in Two Days

Posted by X at 1:55am.

Posted in Box Office News, Drama, Action, Asia.

It was very likely Kwak Kyung-Taek’s latest blockbuster 태풍 (Typhoon), starring Jang Dong-Gun and Lee Jung-Jae, would do well. With a budget of 18 Billion Won (over 4 for marketing only)—the largest in Korean film history—and securing an amazing 540 screens (around a third of the nation’s total screens) for its debut, the film went on to double Peter Jackson’s King Kong in pre-order sales, with final rates around the 45-50% against Kong’s 25%. But people in the industry were nervous anyway, as blockbusters in Korea either seem to strike it big or crash and burn, rarely falling in the middle.

Those fears are over though, as ‘Typhoon’ recorded an opening day of 280,000 tickets sold nationwide (84,000 in Seoul). Kang Je-Gyu’s 태극기 휘날리며 (Taegukgi) actually did better in 2004, with 320,000 tickets sold on its opening day, but that was only after the 90,000 tickets from paid advanced screenings were added to the first day intake of 230,000. Second day went more or less the same, with another nationwide score of 280,000 (76,000 in Seoul), bringing the total to around 560,000 tickets. Distributors CJ Entertainment announced that not only women in their 20s were a big part of the pie, but also men in their 30s came in droves. People are now expecting the film to beat ‘Taegukgi’s first week of 1,770,000 tickets, perhaps even going for the 2 Million. And after that, who knows what will happen. Kang’s blockbuster, starring again Jang Dong-Gun and Won Bin, sold 10 Million tickets in only 39 days, and later went on to become the top grossing Korean film of all time.

Results for ‘King Kong’ and the other films on release are not available yet, but you’ll find all that and more in next week’s Box Office Report.

You can read our ‘Typhoon’ Preview and Press Screening Report, or take a look at the Trailers and other media in the Databank.

[Sources: Star News, Chosun Ilbo]