Director Jang Hang-jun's film 'The King's Warden' has passed 13 million viewers, continuing its box office legend.
On the 15th, film distributor SHOWBOX said on its official social media that as of 9 a.m. that day, the cumulative audience for "The King's Warden" exceeded 13 million.
To commemorate this, SHOWBOX released an image of a nameplate containing the names of 130 audience members, saying "Thanks to the dear friends of "The King's Warden", we have surpassed 13 million viewers." It added, "Not just 130 people but all 13 million viewers are friends of "The King's Warden"," expressing gratitude.
With this, "The King's Warden" surpassed "The Thieves", which recorded 12,984,701 viewers, to take the 10th place in all-time box office rankings. It is expected to soon surpass the record of "12.12: The Day", which currently stands at 13,128,547 viewers.
"The King's Warden" is set in 1457 at Cheongnyeongpo and tells the story of the young king Danjong, who was driven from the throne, and village leader Eom Heung-do, who volunteered for exile to ensure the village's safety. The film movingly unfolds the tragic story of the Joseon king Danjong and Eom Heung-do, who recovered his body, earning praise from audiences.
Yoo Ji-tae, who plays Han Myeong-hoe in the film, expressed overwhelming emotion at the news of surpassing 13 million viewers. On the 15th he posted a short message on his social media saying "unbearable gratitude," celebrating the film's success. The phrase recalled a line by Han Myeong-hoe in the film and drew fans' attention.
Even more than a month after its release, the film's box office momentum has not cooled. On Saturday the 14th alone, about 550,000 viewers visited theaters, continuing its long-running success.
Despite the film's great success, director Jang Hang-jun cannot fully rejoice. Although "The King's Warden" surpassed cumulative sales of 116.1 billion won, he did not earn as much as expected because he held a small production equity stake.
Recently, director Jang Hang-jun appeared on the YouTube channel VIVO TV and candidly shared his feelings during a phone conversation with Song Eun I and Kim Sook.
When Kim Sook asked, "At this point isn't the director making a lot of money?", Director Jang said, "I didn't expect this and staked only a very small equity," adding, "It's painful just thinking about it. I could have built a big building in front of the VIVO headquarters; it's really a shame," which drew laughter.
When this story spread, netizens also expressed regret. Online reactions included, "With this level of success, equity really matters," "Why didn't he stake more equity?", and "The more you think about it, the more regrettable it is."
[Photo] OSEN DB, provided by SHOWBOX
[OSEN]