Hyun Bin’s ‘Harbin’ triumphs, Song Joong-ki’s ‘Bogota’ struggles at Korean box office


“Harbin,” a period film starring actor Hyun Bin, has dominated the box office in South Korea for nearly two weeks. 

In the film, Hyun Bin stars as Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun, who shot and killed Ito Hirobumi, the first prime minister of Japan, at Harbin station in 1909. 

“Harbin” opened in South Korea on Dec. 24 and has topped the box office for 13 consecutive days. 

Based on data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), which tracks box office receipts, “Harbin” topped the weekend box office from Jan. 3 to 5, selling 483,872 tickets and grossing $3.19 million for a 41.96 percent revenue share for the three-day period.  

This brought the film’s total box office haul to 3.67 million in total admissions and gross of $23.84 million from Dec. 24 to Jan. 5. “Harbin” reached three million moviegoers on Jan. 1. 

“Harbin” also stars Park Jeong-min, Park Hoon, Jo Woo-jin, Jeon Yeo-been, Yoo Jae-myung, Lily Franky and Lee Dong-wook. 

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Hyun Bin (center) as Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun in "Harbin" (CJENM) Harbin6.jpg

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Hyun Bin promoting "Harbin" (CJENM) Harbin3.jpg

The cast of "Harbin" (CJENM) 

While “Harbin” achieved success, actor Song Joong-ki’s movie “Bogota: City of the Lost” struggled at the box office. 

“Bogota: City of the Lost” opened in South Korea on Dec. 31 and placed third in the weekend box office from Jan. 3 to 5 with 102,960 in total admissions and gross of $668,784 for a revenue share of 8.67 percent. 

Since its opening, the film has recorded 322,359 in total admissions and gross of $2.03 million in seven days. 

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Song Joong-ki promoting  “Bogota: City of the Lost”  (Megabox Plus M) Bogota1.jpeg

The cast of “Bogota: City of the Lost”  (Megabox Plus M) 

Placing second in the weekend box office is the Korean film “Firefighters” starring Joo Won, Kwak Do-won, Kim Min-jae, Yoo Jae-myung, Lee Yoo-young, Oh Dae-hwan and Lee Joon-hyuk. 

The film was released on Dec. 4 and for the weekend box office, it garnered 129,250 in total admissions and gross of $846,493 for a revenue share of 11.11 percent.  

Since its opening, “Firefighters” has sold 3.55 million tickets and grossed $22.69 million. 

Weekend Box Office in South Korea (Jan. 3 to 5) 

(Source: Korean Film Council’s Korea Box Office Information System)

 

Rank

Title

Release Date

Weekly Gross

(Total)

Admissions

(Total)

Revenue Share

1

HARBIN

South Korea

Dec. 24, 2024

$3,197,059

($23,842,393)

483,872

(3,672,487)

41.96%

2

FIREFIGHTERS

South Korea

Dec. 4, 2024

$846,493

($22,690,901)

129,250

(3,551,970)

11.11%

3

Bogota: City of the Lost

South Korea

Dec. 31, 2024

$668,784

($2,033,291)

102,960

(322,359)

8.77%

4

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

U.S.

Jan. 1, 2025

$560,547

($1,251,953)

89,891

(198,882)

7.35%

5

Pororo movie Underwater adventure

South Korea

Jan. 1, 2025

$485,374

($1,147,983)

83,651

(194,345)

6.37%

6

Mufasa: The Lion King

U.S.

Dec. 18, 2024

$317,188

($5,081,937)

49,902

(756,973)

4.16%

7

Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Our Dinosaur Diary

Japan

Dec. 18, 2024

$277,661

($4,144,466)

43,067

(647,553)

3.64%

8

MOANA 2

U.S.,Canada

Nov. 27, 2024

$253,920

($21,666,983)

38,713

(3,453,851)

3.33%

9

Wicked

U.S.

Nov. 20, 2024

$225,166

($14,185,070)

32,705

(2,119,027)

2.95%

10

Civil War

U.S.

Dec. 31, 2024

$227,708

($568,503)

31,687

(80,371)

2.98%

 

 

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