Korea Box Office: ‘Ashfall’ Remains on Top for Third Weekend

By Sonia Kil

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – South Korean disaster film “Ashfall” remained on top of the local box office in the first weekend of 2020. The CJ Entertainment release earned $4.25 million from 565,000 admissions between Friday and Sunday, accounting for 30% of the country’s total weekend box office. The volcano disaster flick has earned $54.1 million from 7.48 million admissions after three weekends on release.

Since its Dec. 26 release, costume drama “Forbidden Dream” has remained in second place for two weekends. The Lotte Cultureworks release earned $2.54 million between Friday and Sunday for a total of $11.4 million after two weekends on release. Starring Choi Min-shik (“Lucy”) and Hand Suk-kyu (“The Royal Taylor”), the Joseon dynasty-set period drama revolves around King Sejong and an inventor who develop a 20-year relationship while advancing the field of astronomy.

With an unusual Tuesday release, American action drama “Midway” debuted in second. It earned $4.97 million from 340,000 admissions over six days between Tuesday and Sunday.

Korean drama “Start-up” slipped to fourth place from the previous weekend’s third. The Next Entertainment World release added $2 million between Friday and Sunday to extend its three-weekend total to $22.0 million. Disney’s “Frozen 2” took fifth place, earning $846,000 over the weekend. The megahit animated feature has accumulated $97 million in after seven weekends on release. In sixth place, Korean animation “The Haunted House: The Sky Ghost VS Jormungandr” earned $512,000 for a total of $5.47 million after three weekends.