“The Phone” opened on top of the Korean box office with $5.13 million from 729,000 admissions between Thursday and Sunday.
Distributed by NEW, the thriller is the story of a lawyer who receives a phone call from his dead wife who was murdered the previous year. The film will be remade in China through Huace & NEW, a joint venture that NEW has set up with Chinese major Huace Media.
“The Martian” dropped to second place, with a decline of 34%. The sci fi adventure earned $4.03 million from 535,000 admissions between Friday and Sunday and has made $28.7 million since its Oct. 8 release.
Lotte Entertainment’s drama-thriller “The Exclusive: Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” debuted in third, earning $2.79 million from 402,000 admissions between Thursday and Sunday. Director Roh Deok’s previous feature “Very Ordinary Couple” earned $12.2 million in 2013.
Warner Bros.’ office comedy “The Intern” slipped to fourth place, making $1.53 million between Friday and Sunday, for a total of $22.2 million after four weekends on release.
“Collective Invention,” a low-budget Korean drama about a humanoid, debuted in fifth and earned $513,000 between Thursday and Friday. By first-time director Kwon Oh-kwang, it premiered in the Toronto festival’s Vanguard section last month.
Korean trio “The Advocate: A Missing Body,” “The Throne,” and “The Accidental Detective” took sixth to eighth place. “Advocate” has made $7.56 million after three weekends, while “Throne” and “Detective” have grossed $43.2 million and $18.1 million after six and five weekends, respectively.
“The Transporter Refueled” dropped to ninth, with a decline of 90%. The France-China co-production has made $1.1 million after two weekends.
