Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hollywood fantasy film “Wonka” held strongly at the top of the South Korean box office on a weekend boosted by the Lunar New Year holidays.
But Hollywood spy comedy “Argylle” opened disappointingly in seventh position. Korea allocates three days of public holiday to the Lunar New Year and took them this time from Friday to Sunday.
The extra holiday footfall in cinemas drove up box office and gave “Wonka” an almost unchanged weekend haul, despite a declining share of the overall market. “Wonka” earned $3.88 million in its second weekend, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).
After 12 days in Korean cinemas, it has a cumulative total of $11.6 million. The overall theatrical market climbed 50% due to the holiday, from $7.47 million to $11.3 million this weekend. “Citizen of a Kind” was also boosted by the holiday traffic.
Read more on variety.com