Ryu Seung-wan's new film "Humint" surpassed 1 million admissions within a week of its release, becoming the center of holiday box office success.
According to the integrated movie ticketing system, "Humint" exceeded 1 million viewers on the afternoon of the 17th. After opening on the 11th and drawing about 116,000 people on its first day to start at No. 1 at the box office, it continued a stable audience flow in the early part of the holiday and established itself as the "one pick" for the Lunar New Year theatergoers.
Signs of success were detected even before the release. Advance ticket sales approached 200,000, raising expectations, and it maintained a top position in booking rates immediately after release. Notably, it was not just opening-day strength; actual viewer ratings and word of mouth added momentum.
Audience reactions are fairly clear. "Action you must see in theaters," "Action and narrative go together," "A movie to blow away holiday stress," and other experiential responses continued. Ryu Seung-wan's signature dense gun action, hand-to-hand combat and car chases overwhelm the screen, while the emotional lines between characters are also evaluated as relatively solidly built.
This work does not remain a simple spy action. Centered on NIS Director Jo, characters with different objectives collide in the exotic setting of Vladivostok. Even amid the tension of guns being aimed, the characters' choices and emotions intersect, adding narrative resonance to the genre's thrills.
Given the characteristics of the theater scene during the Lunar New Year holiday, the high proportion of family audiences is also cited as a reason for the success. The recognizability of actors across generations, the straightforward thrill of the action and a plot that is not excessively obscure combine to make it mentioned as a "movie to watch with parents." In fact, online communities and booking reviews even used the expression "filial piety item."
Ryu Seung-wan is a director who has proven both box office appeal and genre completeness through works such as Veteran, Mogadishu and Smugglers. "Humint" also pursues both the reassuring familiarity of a known taste and the freshness of a new combination as an extension of that. Analysts say it overlays a Hong Kong noir sensibility on a familiar spy framework, strengthens character-centered tension and has built a rhythm that resonates in the Lunar New Year theaters.
Surpassing 1 million admissions by the mid-holiday point and on the sixth day since release is a symbolic figure. With whether weekday audiences are maintained after the holiday in question, the possibility of long-term success is also being predicted, raising expectations.<
[Photo] Provided by NEW
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