Korean actor and “Descendants of the Sun” star Song Joong-ki’s new big-budget science fiction movie “Space Sweepers” has topped in 16 countries on Netflix.
“Space Sweepers,” with a budget of 24 billion won ($21.5 million), is set in 2092 and tells the story of the spaceship Victory and its crew led by Tae-ho (played by Song Joong-ki), Captain Jang (actress Kim Tae-ri), Tiger Park (actor Jin Seon-kyu) and robot Bubs (actor Yoo Hae-jin).
The crew finds a crashed space shuttle with a seven-year-old girl inside, who is a humanlike robot wanted by the UTS Space Guards.
According to streaming analytics company FlixPatrol, “Space Sweepers” became No. 1 on Netflix in 16 countries: Philippines, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea and Ukraine.
It is No. 2 in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam, No. 3 in Canada, No. 6 in the UK and No. 7 in the US.
Overall, “Space Sweepers” is the No. 1 movie in the world on Netflix for the Feb. 6 ranking, according to FlixPatrol. It is followed by “Finding ‘Ohana,” “The Dig,” “Below Zero” and “All My Friends are Dead.”
“Space Sweepers” was supposed to be released in theaters in South Korea last year but due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), it was postponed until Netflix announced in November that the movie would be released on the platform.
This is Song Joong-ki’s movie in four years after starring in “The Battleship Island” in 2017. In addition to "Space Sweepers," he will be starring in the Korean drama “Vincenzo,” which will premiere on tvN on Feb. 20 and will also be streamed on Netflix.