Animated film "Kung Fu Panda 4" topped the Korean box office, Wednesday. Courtesy of Universal Pictures

DreamWorks Animation's film "Kung Fu Panda 4" debuted at the top of the local box office Wednesday with the highest opening score of this year, putting a break on the horror film "Exhuma" that has been dominating the chart for seven weeks.

The latest installment of the hit animation franchise sold approximately 429,000 tickets, grossing 3.97 billion won ($2.91 million) on Wednesday, a designated holiday for general elections. This surpasses this year's previous opening record held by "Exhuma," which sold about 330,000 tickets, grossing about 3 billion won.

"Kung Fu Panda 4" also recorded the highest opening of its film series. The first installment sold 105,000 tickets, the second sold about 130,000 tickets, and the third sold about 222,000 tickets on opening day.

Led by director Mike Mitchell, the comedy action film revolves around giant panda Po (voiced by Jack Black), who has been chosen as the prophesied Dragon Warrior. After becoming the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace, he must train new warriors.

But, when a powerful shape-shifting sorcerer, The Chameleon (Viola Davis), appears and uses her ability to duplicate the powers of kung fu masters, he teams up with a quick-witted corsac fox, Zhen (Awkwafina), to fight off the villain, while discovering heroes in the most unexpected places.

A scene from the film "Exhuma" / Courtesy of Showbox

This year's biggest hit, "Exhuma," took the second spot at the box office on Wednesday after topping the chart for 47 days since it hit the theaters on Feb. 22.

The film only sold about 70,000 tickets on Wednesday, grossing 702 million won. It has collected a total of 11.46 million ticket sales, accumulating 110 billion won.

Director Jang Jae-hyun's latest mystery occult film stormed the local box office, surpassing the 10 million admission mark for the first time this year in just over a month. It became the biggest hit of this year and the 19th highest-grossing film of all time.

It also has garnered popularity overseas, becoming the highest-grossing Korean film ever in Vietnam as it drew about 2.36 million ticket sales since it was released on March 15.

The film follows two young shamans, a feng shui expert and a mortician, joining hands to investigate mysterious occurrences surrounding a wealthy family in the United States. As they carry out the exhumation of the family ancestor's grave to solve the issue, they find bigger and darker secrets buried underground.

Japanese romance film "The Last 10 Years" ranked third at the holiday's box office, beating out the crime film "Troll Factory," which came after "Exhuma" the day before.

"The Last 10 Years," which premiered last May and reopened in theaters April 3, garnered about 37,000 ticket sales with 364 million won grossing.

Led by Michihito Fujii, the romance film is about a girl who only has 10 years to live with an incurable disease. Her determination to not fall in love during her last years changes when she meets a man at a school reunion.