Actor Shin Mina is showing her chops as a box-office thriller queen, chasing Disney·Pixar's blockbuster animation Toy Story 5 neck and neck with her first film after marriage, Nundongja.
According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) integrated box office network on the 5th, the film Nundongja (director Yeom Ji-ho, produced by Dream Capture, co-produced by Time Heist, presented by Solere Partners by K-Wave Media·By4M Studio, distributed by By4M Studio·Ewha Bu Company) drew 141,266 viewers nationwide on the 4th alone. With this, Nundongja has recorded a cumulative audience of 715,568.
Although it ranks second in the overall box office behind Walt Disney Company's Pixar animation blockbuster Toy Story 5, its daily audience is not far behind Toy Story 5's 183,910. Considering Nundongja opened on the 24th of last month, it appears to have steadily built word of mouth by surpassing 100,000 daily viewers within 10 days. In particular, momentum is building as it heads toward surpassing 1 million viewers, raising expectations whether it can exceed the widely reported breakeven point of 1.8 million viewers.
At the center of attention on Nundongja is Shin Mina, who gave a passionate performance as the lead. Nundongja is a suspense thriller in which Seojin, who is gradually losing her sight due to a hereditary disease, investigates the suspicions surrounding her twin sister's death and confronts the truth. In Nundongja, Shin Mina plays Seojin, a photographer who is losing her sight, and also portrays Seoin, her twin who also lost her sight but succeeded as a potter, performing both roles.
The film is a thriller that follows Seojin's process of digging into the mystery surrounding Seoin's death and pursuing the truth. The tension born from the fear of being unable to see and the truth that emerges from pitch-black darkness open the audience's eyes like an operation, delivering exhilaration. Shin Mina's powerful portrayal of a woman losing her sight and the suspense of pursuing the truth drive the film's overall appeal.
Shin Mina returned to the screen for the first time in three years since 3 Days' Leave in 2023. Last year, she married her long-time partner and actor Kim Woo-bin, and Nundongja is her first work after becoming a new bride. As Nundongja was anticipated as Shin Mina's first screen comeback after marriage, she met expectations with an immersive performance that delivers sharpening thrills amid blurred vision.
Previously, Shin Mina showed steady acting in numerous dramas such as Bad Connection, Our Blues, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and Chief of Staff, as well as films including Diva, My Love, My Bride and Gyeongju. In Nundongja, she maintains the presence of a leading actor, an appeal that draws viewers in, and sustains high concentration while keeping taut tension.
Through this, she is carrying on the line of female-led thrillers that began with Noise last year and continued with Salmokji: Whispering Water in the first half of this year. In Noise last year, actor Lee Sun-bin starred and drew more than 1.7 million viewers, surpassing the breakeven point. In Salmokji: Whispering Water, actor Kim Hyeyoon challenged the horror genre for the first time in her life and succeeded at the box office, setting a new record for the largest audience for a Korean horror film with 3.24 million viewers.
Shin Mina's Nundongja is continuing its momentum with unflagging audience turnout even in its second week of release. This has raised expectations that a new thriller queen may be born once again. Attention is focused on Shin Mina's trajectory as she also challenges the title of box-office queen with her first comeback after marriage.
[Photo] Provided by By4M Studio.
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