Korean films are fighting well raking 1st and 2nd places

On the last weekend of March 2022, the number of moviegoers in Korea increased slightly from the week before (344,000) to 352,000. With the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases gradually decreasing after reaching its highest level, the number of moviegoers in Korea is expected to increase gradually as large blockbusters are also set to be released from April. 

From Friday, March 25 to Sunday, March 27, taking first place at the Korean box office was Novelist Cheon Myoungkwan's directorial debut film, HOT BLOODED. Released on March 23, it gathered 156,000 viewers (USD 1.26 million) over the weekend, accounting for 44.8% of the weekend ticket sales. HOT BLOODED is an action noir film based on a novel by novelist Kim Unsu, the survival story of gangsters at a small port in Busan in the early 1990s. With 218,000 viewers (USD 1.72 million) in total, it has remained at the top of the box office since its release. 

Maintaining its second-place rank is IN OUR PRIME, starring Choi Minshik. During the same period, the film attracted 56,730 viewers, recording a total of 470,149 viewers. Since its release on March 9, sales in the third week reached 3.65 million USD. 

The Japanese animation Jujutsu Kaisen: Zero is back at the high rank of the box office a month after its release. Released on Feb. 17, Jujutsu Kaisen: Zero topped The Batman, DC's most famous superhero, recording 3rd place with 33,216 audiences over the weekend. Meanwhile, The Batman added 32,000 viewers over the weekend, falling one step to fourth place. The total number is 873,338 viewers. 

Director Roland Emmerich's science fiction disaster film Moonfall, which topped the box office last week, quickly fell to fifth place with 26,086 viewers (USD 0.2 million) over the weekend. 

In addition, Kenneth Branagh's Belfast, which won the Best Original Screenplay at the 94th Academy Awards, and King Richard, which Will Smith won the Best Actor in the same awards, ranked seventh and ninth places, respectively. It is interesting to watch whether winning the Oscars can affect the success of the two films.