The King's Warden is on track to surpass 12 million moviegoers after topping a cumulative audience of 10 million, and some of the film's CG (computer graphics) has entered revision.
SHOWBOX said in an official statement on the 10th that "the CG in the film is being worked on independently because the CG company wanted to reflect an improved version even for future IPTV release. However, it remains undecided how it will be reflected in the current theatrical version."
The King's Warden is a film that captures one year of exile of Joseon's sixth king, Danjong. The story follows the deposed Danjong, Lee Hongwi (played by Park Jihoon), spending the final period of his life while connecting with village residents, including the village head, Eom Heungdo (played by Yoo Hai Jin), at his place of exile in Yeongwol County, Gangwon.
The King's Warden earned praise for its historical subject matter, character-driven narrative, and performances, but harsh criticism poured in over the CG quality in some scenes from the moment of release. In particular, the "tiger appearance scene," cited as an important moment in the film, drew comments that it was distracting enough to break immersion.
Online, some viewers left comments such as "It's a 10 million audience film, but the CG is too disappointing," and "The story and acting are good, but I lost focus during the tiger scene." On the other hand, many said, "Even if the CG is lacking, the film itself was good," and "The story and the actors' performances still make it well worth watching."
Meanwhile, The King's Warden is on the verge of surpassing 12 million admissions. According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) integrated computer network tally, the film drew 203,146 viewers the previous day, bringing the cumulative total to 11,706,865. On the 6th, after surpassing 10 million admissions, it continued its box-office run by attracting more than 200,000 weekday attendees, and is therefore expected to overtake the records of the 10 million films "Taegukgi: Brotherhood Of War (11,740,000)" and "Exhuma (11,910,000)" going forward.