Two topical new releases, “The Mayor” and “The King’s Case Note,” landed on top of the South Korean box office.
Opening on Wednesday (Apr. 26), Showbox’s election drama “Mayor” scored $6.13 million from 904,000 admissions over five days. The Choi Min-shik-starrer sees an incumbent Seoul mayor seeking a third term and employing all means to keep his secrets hidden from the public. CJ’s costume drama “Case Note” debuted on the same day and earned $4.91 million from 722,000 admissions. The film sees the story of a king and his biographer investigating a crime that threatens the throne and the country. The two titles accounted for 60% of the total weekend box office.
South Korea goes to the polls next week (May 9) to elect a new president, after the last was impeached.
“The Fate of the Furious” incurred a drop of 50% and slipped to third place. The UPI release earned $2.61 million from 353,000 admissions between Friday and Sunday for a total of $23.1 million after three weekends.
Opening on Friday, Sony’s “Smurfs: The Lost Village” landed in fourth. The animated family drama earned $1.05 million between Friday and Sunday. The theatrical version of popular local children’s animation, “Tobot: The Attack of the Robot Army” opened on Thursday, earning $396,000 over four days and taking fifth place.
