The Korean drama film 'Exhuma' continues to dominate the local box office, maintaining its top position for the sixth consecutive weekend. Despite facing competition from new releases like 'Troll Factory' and 'Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire,' 'Exhuma' managed to secure its stronghold. The movie, starring Choi Min-sik, experienced a 32% drop in earnings, bringing in $3.08 million over the weekend and accumulating a total of $78.7 million from nearly 11 million viewers.
'Troll Factory,' a crime drama directed by Ahn Gooc-jin and featuring Son Suk-ku, debuted in second place with earnings of $2.56 million over the weekend and a total of $3.75 million in its first five days. 'Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire' entered the box office in third place, earning $1.80 million over the weekend and $2.40 million in its opening five days.
The combined success of these new releases contributed to a total weekend box office revenue of $9.16 million, surpassing the figures from March 2023. The month of March 2024 saw a significant increase in ticket sales, with 11.7 million tickets sold, marking a 57% year-on-year gain and generating a gross revenue of KRW116 billion ($85.6 million). Local films dominated the market share with a 72% share in March.
The positive trend continued into the first quarter of 2024, with a 10% year-on-year improvement in revenue, totaling KRW302 billion ($223 million). Ticket sales for the quarter reached 30.9 million, a 23% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
In the latest weekend rankings, 'Dune 2' secured fourth place with earnings of $578,000, bringing its total to $16.3 million in Korea. 'Spy X Family Code: White' claimed fifth place with $272,000 in earnings after two weekends, totaling $1.74 million. '1980: The Unforgettable Day' debuted in sixth place with $141,000 over the weekend and $217,000 in its first five days.
'Wonka' earned $97,000 in seventh place, reaching a cumulative total of $25.2 million since its release at the end of January. 'Mobile Suit Gundam: Seed Freedom' and 'Evil Does Not Exist' secured eighth and ninth places, respectively, with earnings of $93,800 and $73,400 over the weekend. 'Bread Barbershop: Celeb in Bakery Town' rounded out the top ten with $43,000 in earnings and a total of $1.23 million.
