The King's Warden (director Jang Hang-jun, distributed by SHOWBOX, produced by Onda Works·BA Entertainment) has drawn praise as a powerful historical drama thanks to the actors' weighty performances and lingering resonance, becoming the biggest box-office hit of 2026 with 9 million admissions.
In 1457 at Cheongryeongpo, the film The King's Warden, which tells the story of a village chief who volunteered for exile to revive his village and a young deposed former king who was exiled, surpassed 9 million cumulative admissions on its 27th day after release, on March 2 (Mon), dominating the March box office. This is faster than Masquerade, which reached 10 million admissions as the first historical film to do so in 50 days, and faster than the film Masquerade (31 days), which left numerous iconic scenes thanks to its solid narrative and the actors' strong performances. According to the integrated box office reporting system, The King's Warden had 817,205 daily admissions on March 1 (Sun), breaking its own record and surpassing the previous highest daily admissions recorded on Lunar New Year day (the 17th), which was 661,442. Having drawn 9 million viewers and sparked the "WangSaNam" syndrome, The King's Warden is expected to continue its box-office dominance in March.
Moreover, audiences who watched The King's Warden have been visiting Yeongwol in Gangwon Province, the film's setting, or taking an interest in the history of Danjong, enjoying the film's aftereffects in various ways and drawing attention. "Thanks to the film, many people look up and learn about history; it seems to have brought a very good effect" (Naver, rlae****), "This is the first film I've seen with such a lasting aftereffect ㅎㅎ I'm going to see it a second time today" (Naver, ehdn****), "Even after two viewings, the immersion and emotion remain the sameㅜ" (CGV, wise****), "I liked that it showed a new side of Danjong" (CGV, saram****), "To craft such a dense story from just a few lines of historical records.." (X, kjd1****), "Gold veins have opened in Yeongwol Cheongryeongpo, really pulling a modern-day donkey… Danjong must be happy" (X, memo****), "Train tickets to Yeongwol are sold out because of The King's Warden..!" (X, Cybe****) — enthusiastic responses from audiences enjoying the film's deep resonance and praise for its immersive narrative that alternates between laughter and tears are attracting attention. With the actors' performances maximizing immersion and the film densely portraying Danjong's hidden story, audience fervor continues into the film's fourth week, and The King's Warden's unstoppable box-office phenomenon is set to fully captivate the March theaters.
Director Jang Hang-jun appeared on "Baeten" last January and mentioned a 10 million admissions pledge, drawing attention to whether he will follow through. At the time he said, "It won't become 10 million, but if it does, I will change my phone number, change my name and get plastic surgery. I will make it so no one recognizes me." He added, "I'm thinking about naturalizing somewhere else. I'll buy a yacht and hold a party on board," drawing attention to his future moves.
Holding firm at box office No. 1 and surpassing 9 million admissions while continuing an unstoppable run, The King's Warden, the biggest hit of 2026, is playing to rave reviews in theaters.
[photo] OSEN DB / provided by SHOWBOX
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