The Korean drama movie “Pawn” starring Sung Dong-il, Ha Ji-won, Kim Hee-won and Park So-yi emerged as the No. 1 film in Korea for the month of October as total cinema admissions for the month rose to 4.63 million.
According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), which tracks box office receipts, “Pawn,” released on Sept. 29, sold 1.47 million tickets in October to place first. The film grossed $11.26 million for the month with a revenue share of 30.81 percent.
In second place is the Korean movie “Samjin Company English Class,” starring Go Ah-sung, Park Hye-su and Esom, which had 785,365 in total admissions and gross of $5.97 million for the month since its release on Oct. 21.
Third in October is Yoo Ah-in and Yoo Jae-myung’s “Voice of Silence,” which sold 382,449 tickets and earned $2.96 million in October.
“The Golden Holiday,” which was shot in the Philippines and released on Sept. 29, grabbed fourth place. The movie starring Kwak Do-won, Kim Dae-myeong and Kim Hee-won, garnered 359,075 in total admissions and grossed $2.76 million in October.
The American film “Greenland,” released on Sept. 29, is in fifth place, selling 258,780 tickets and grossing $1.99 million.
The sixth to 10th places in the Korean box office in October are: “Tenet,” released on Aug. 26, with 222,986 tickets sold and gross of $1.88 million; “Mr. Trot: The Movie,” 120,575 tickets, $921,636; “Unhinged,” 116,531 tickets, $888,263; "Thank You: Kim Ho-joong's First Fan Meeting Movie," 76,387 tickets, $2 million; and “Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution,” 68,752 tickets, $486,332.
Korean cinemas sold 4.63 million tickets in October compared to 2.98 million in September, or an increase of 1.64 million tickets or 55 percent. Total monthly gross in October was 41.52 billion won ($36.59 million), higher than 26.03 billion won ($22.93 million) recorded in September, or an increase of 15.49 billion ($13.65 million) or 59 percent.
From January to October this year, the Korean box office sold 54.48 million tickets, a sharp decrease from 185.61 million tickets sold in the same period in 2019. The total gross for the first 10 months of 2020 totaled 465.82 billion won (about $410.58 million), down from 1.57 trillion won ($1.38 billion) recorded in the same period last year.