Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| Tom Holland, left, and Jake Gyllenhaal hold traditional Korean masks decorated like Spider-Man's costume during a promotion for the latest Marvel movie "Spider-Man: Far From Home" at a media conference held in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. Korea Times files |
By Lee Gyu-lee
"Spider-Man: Far From Home" landed in the top spot in the domestic box office after it premiered last Tuesday. The superhero film has not allowed any other films to take the top spot since.
The sequel to 2017 film "Spider-Man: Homecoming" sold about 3 million tickets over the weekend, collecting an overall grossing of 39 billion won ($33 million) as of Sunday.
Marvel's latest movie picks up from "Avengers: Endgame" which came out earlier this year. It follows the web-slinging adventures of 16-year-old superhero Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, on a class trip to Europe. While on his trip, Parker gets recruited by Nick Fury and Mysterio ― played by Samuel L. Jackson and Jake Gyllenhaal ― to fight the so-called evil Elemental creatures.
From its premiere, the movie has been taking about 70 percent to 80 percent of total local box office ticket sales.
Clashing with the U.S. Independence Day on July 4, the movie set a six-day opening record of $185 million in North America, making the worldwide box office gross around $580 million.
A holdover of the competition, director Guy Ritchie's "Aladdin" still stands strong, reserving the second spot at local box offices with ticket sales of 600,000. The movie marked a total of 9.3 million ticket sales as of Monday, nearing the 10 million mark, a standard that is used to gauge how successful a certain film is.
This live remake of Disney's long-loved animation also marked a record for 4DX theaters, which feature moving chairs and live effects. About 700,000 tickets were sold for the movie's 4DX version, which is the record for all movies offered in the special theaters.
The moving chairs and special effects such as vibration and blowing air boosted the realistic experience for audiences through Aladdin's adventure, including the signature magic carpet ride.
To whet the appetite of Aladdin's fans, multiplex company CJ CGV is planning to hold a "Thank You Motion-chair Sing-along Party" in central Seoul, Friday. This special event will allow the audiences to sing along to the movie's songs in a theater with chairs moving to the melody.
Disney-Pixar's animation "Toy Story 4," directed by Josh Cooley, came in third place at the weekend local box office. Although the movie's ticket sales stagnated on weekdays since Spider-Man's premiere, its sales spiked to 350,000 over the weekend.
The animation's accumulative ticket sales marked 2.8 million as of Monday, bringing in 24 billion won ($20 million).
Adding on to the Disney power in the box office, another live-action remake of musical animation "The Lion King" is to join the competition next Wednesday. This newest addition to Disney films is directed by Jon Favreau and voiced by actor and singer Donald Glover as Simba and Beyonce as Nala.
"The Lion King" is set to hit local theaters in mid-July, sparking speculation whether the photorealistic computer-animated remake of the 1994 film can rattle the local box office as it did two decades ago.
