The Japanese animated film “Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island” maintained its position at the top of the South Korean box office during the weekend of Nov. 6–8. According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the Toho-distributed fantasy feature earned $1.1 million from 149,050 admissions across 977 screens, accounting for 23.5% of the weekend market. Directed by Kei Oikawa and adapted from the manga by Nagano, the film has reached a cumulative total of $21 million from 2,788,843 admissions since it premiered on Sept. 30.
Next Entertainment World’s corporate mystery thriller “Final Interview” debuted in second place over the weekend. The film earned $787,344 from 104,476 admissions across 957 screens, capturing 16.7% of the theatrical receipts. Directed by Kim Jung-hoon and adapted from Akinari Asakura’s novel, the thriller features six finalists competing for a corporate position who must evaluate one another during a two-hour deliberation. The process turns into chaos when envelopes containing their darkest secrets are revealed. Since its mid-week launch on Nov. 4, the film has grossed $1.2 million from 166,796 admissions.
Sony Pictures and TriStar’s wilderness survival thriller “Heart of the Beast” took third place in its second weekend. The Brad Pitt-starring action-adventure earned $667,817 from 90,679 admissions across 851 screens for 14.17% of the market. Since its Oct. 28 debut, the film has accumulated $2.7 million from 379,763 viewers.
Toho’s anime special “Detective Conan: The Counterfeit Case of Ultra 30″ debuted in fourth place, pulling in $592,765 from 79,999 admissions across 409 screens to take 12.58% of the frame. The 30th-anniversary mystery special, which follows Conan Edogawa uncovering an organized counterfeit banknote operation and a connected murder case, has accumulated $803,051 from 108,164 admissions since bowing on Nov. 5.
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s “The Cat in the Hat” opened in fifth place, grossing $200,431 from 29,259 admissions across 608 screens for 4.2% of receipts. The film has taken $216,246 from 31,449 viewers since its wide release on Nov. 6.
Aniplex’s anime fantasy “Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie -Walpurgisnacht: Rising-” ranked sixth in admissions with 25,069 tickets across 187 screens. However, it generated a higher revenue gross of $211,771 (4.4% market share) due to premium ticketing. Directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and Yukihiro Miyamoto, the sequel has grossed $362,956 from 43,319 admissions since its Nov. 4 premiere.
The anime re-release “Attack on Titan: Crimson Arrows” placed seventh, collecting $125,629 from 14,448 admissions across 130 screens, bringing its cumulative total to $742,804 from 97,105 admissions.
Searchlight Pictures’ “Wild Horse Nine” debuted in eighth place with $111,927 from 14,113 admissions across 318 screens. The Venice competition title has grossed $166,275 from 21,394 admissions since opening on Nov. 4.
Director Hur Jin-ho’s political crime thriller “The Assassin(s)” placed ninth in its seventh weekend, taking in $90,222 from 12,333 admissions across 406 screens. Distributed by Hive Media Corp and starring Yu Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho, the reconstruction of the 1974 assassination attempt on President Park Chung-hee has accumulated $25 million from 3,476,553 admissions since its Sept. 23 launch.
Rounding out the top 10, the workplace comedy “Ugly Duckling Ms. Maeng” by By4M Studio and Barunson E&A earned $70,527 from 10,340 admissions across 395 screens, pushing its cumulative gross to $688,175.
The overall market collective gross for the weekend was $6.2 million, an increase from last week’s $5.3 million.
