The romantic drama “Once We Were Us” (directed by Kim Do-young) has pulled off a late-surging upset, overtaking “Avatar: Fire and Ash” in its second week and holding the No. 1 spot for a second straight day.
According to the Korean Film Council’s box office tracker on Jan. 9, “Once We Were Us” drew 58,278 moviegoers nationwide on Jan. 8, lifting its cumulative admissions to 706,150.
The film, which opened Dec. 31, crossed 500,000 admissions in just six days. Still, the juggernaut “Avatar: Fire and Ash” kept it at No. 2 through opening weekend.
Week two told a different story: “Once We Were Us” climbed to the top and has stayed there for two consecutive days. Daily turnout is holding steady in the 50,000 range, signaling strong word of mouth and staying power.
At this pace, the film looks poised to clear its break-even mark of 1 million admissions. If momentum holds through the weekend, it could crest the seven-figure milestone as early as next week.
Meanwhile, in its fourth week, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” slid to the 40,000 range in daily admissions, making a 10-million run increasingly unlikely.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)