'HOPE' Defends Weekend Box Office Crown for Second Consecutive Week… But Audience Numbers Decline Amid Polarizing Reviews

The film 'HOPE' has claimed the number one spot at the weekend box office for two consecutive weeks, but signs of a downward trend are raising concerns.

According to the Korean Film Council's integrated ticketing computer network on July 27, 'HOPE' drew 767,365 viewers nationwide from July 24 to 26, bringing its cumulative audience to 3,415,709.

Considering that the film attracted 1.5 million viewers during its opening weekend—which coincided with the Constitution Day holiday weekend from July 17 to 19—its second-weekend audience numbers have dropped by more than 50 percent. This indicates that the fierce debate over the movie that erupted in its early release period has not acted as a positive factor for its box office success.

'HOPE' is a production that invested approximately 60 billion won, the largest budget in South Korean film history. Fortunately, it is known that overseas presales have lowered its break-even point to around 5 million viewers. Before its release, expectations pointed toward a box office run of 7 to 8 million viewers, but now in its second week, the focus seems to have shifted entirely to simply surpassing the break-even point.

While the film has secured a significant number of screens due to a lack of prominent competitors during its first two weeks, 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' is scheduled for release on July 29, which is expected to prompt a massive shift in screens.

 

(Photo: SBS Entertainment News, Reported by Kim Ji-hye)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.