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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Movies and TV devider 'Oppenheimer' debuts at No. 1 in Korea; achieves highest Liberation Day opening in 5 years

'Oppenheimer' debuts at No. 1 in Korea; achieves highest Liberation Day opening in 5 years

Published Aug 16, 2023 01:21 am

Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” debuted at No. 1 at the box office in South Korea to achieve the highest opening on Liberation Day in the last five years. 

“Oppenheimer” opened in South Korea on Aug. 15, which was the National Liberation Day of Korea commemorating the day when Korea was liberated from Japan’s colonial rule. 

Oppenheimer1.jpeg

"Oppenheimer" ("Oppenheimer" account on Twitter)

According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), “Oppenheimer” sold 552,958 tickets on Aug. 15 and grossed $4.3 million with a daily revenue share of 44.21 percent.  

This is the highest Liberation Day opening in South Korea in the last five years, surpassing “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” which recorded 551,246 in total admissions on opening day in 2019. 

“Oppenheimer” dislodged the Korean film “Concrete Utopia” from the No. 1 spot, which achieved 303,126 in total admissions and gross of $2.23 million on Aug. 15. 

“Concrete Utopia” had occupied the No. 1 spot before “Oppenheimer”  opened and has sold 2.13 million tickets and grossed $15.57 million since Aug. 9. 

“Oppenheimer” is Nolan’s highest opening day record among his films released in South Korea. It surpassed the records of "Tenet" (130,000), "Dunkirk" (220,000), "Interstellar" (220,000), and "The Dark Knight Rises" (440,000), according to Korean media. 

The film achieved the second highest opening day record in South Korea in 2023 behind the Korean film “The Roundup: No Way Out,” starring Ma Dong-seok, which garnered 740,844 in total admissions on May 31. 

“Oppenheimer” also beat the opening day record of Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One,” which had 229,753 in total admissions on July 12. 

The film is about the “father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer. It stars Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer along with Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Matthew Modine, Tom Conti, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Benny Safdie and Josh Peck.

Here is the daily box office in South Korea on Aug. 15, according to KOFIC. Numbers in parentheses are totals since opening. 
 

Rank

Title

Release Date

Daily Gross

(Total)

Admissions

(Total)

Revenue Share

1

 

Oppenheimer

U.S.

Aug 15, 2023

$4,304,696

($4,312,619)

552,958

(553,582)

44.21%

2

 

Concrete Utopia

South Korea

Aug 09, 2023

$2,237,300

($15,573,747)

303,126

(2,136,525)

22.97%

3

 

HONEYSWEET

South Korea

Aug 15, 2023

$895,487

($965,318)

122,194

(132,646)

9.19%

4

 

Smugglers

South Korea

Jul 26, 2023

$715,090

($32,944,745)

96,425

(4,569,779)

7.34%

5

 

Elemental

U.S.

Jun 14, 2023

$532,509

($49,651,688)

71,731

(6,767,226)

5.46%

6

 

Meg 2: The Trench

U.S.

Aug 15, 2023

$331,969

($334,564)

42,231

(42,585)

3.4%

7

 

A Man of Reason

South Korea

Aug 15, 2023

$305,927

($334,670)

40,227

(44,117)

3.14%

8

 

Octonauts: Above and Beyond – Season 2

U.K.

Aug 10, 2023

$89,297

($368,887)

12,958

(55,624)

0.91%

9

 

Ransomed

South Korea

Aug 02, 2023

$74,359

($7,352,634)

10,570

(1,022,216)

0.76%

10

 

Running Man : Revengers

South Korea

Aug 10, 2023

$52,006

($228,523)

7,890

(36,195)

0.53%

 

 

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