Hollywood blockbusters have taken over Korea's theaters. Over the two-day weekend they gathered about 1 million moviegoers, firmly holding the top ranks of the box office.
On the 10th, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) theater ticket integrated computer network, the films 'Odyssey' (director: Christopher Nolan, distributor: Universal Pictures) and 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' (director: Destin Cretton, distributor: Sony Pictures) drew 497,556 and 463,917 viewers respectively on the 9th, competing for first and second place at the box office.
Thus, 'Odyssey' and 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' attracted 1,023,222 and 978,054 viewers respectively over the two-day weekend, writing a box office record.
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' is an action blockbuster in which Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland), forgotten by everyone due to the events of 'Spider-Man: No Way Home', faces a mysterious enemy who remembers his identity and, after gaining uncontrollable powers from DNA mutation, falls into deeper chaos while fighting a new threat to protect his loved ones. As a new release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) with a strong global fandom, it drew much anticipation and attention from numerous fans even before release, especially since the release timing of the previous Spider-Man entry, 'Spider-Man: No Way Home', was marred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' recorded worldwide opening-weekend revenue of $932.09 million, ranking second in all-time worldwide opening scores. This surpasses the opening records of all live-action Avengers films except for the MCU's biggest hit, 'Avengers: Endgame'.
Also, according to Box Office Mojo, 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' exceeded $1 billion in revenue within six days of release and has so far earned $1,665,085,528 in worldwide revenue (about 2.3622 trillion won), making it the highest-grossing 2026 release worldwide. Given that 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' surpassed $1 billion in 11 days, it is expected that 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' may break even higher records.
'Odyssey', which depicts the epic of Odysseus (played by Matt Damon), the hero who led the Greeks to victory in the Trojan War and fights the wrath of the gods to return home, also drew great expectations as a new film by world-renowned director Christopher Nolan, and proved its reputation by surpassing the $1 billion mark in just three weeks after release. As of the 10th, it recorded $1,104,804,890 in worldwide revenue (about 1.5673 trillion won), overtaking 'Toy Story 5' to secure second place in the 2026 worldwide box office.
'Odyssey' had a production budget of about $250 million (about 354.675 million won) and was known as the largest-scale work among Christopher Nolan's films. But in less than a month after release it earned five times that amount, setting the highest box office record in Christopher Nolan's film history.
This global success in acclaim is reflected in the domestic box office as well. 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' surpassed 6 million cumulative viewers 12 days after its domestic release, and 'Odyssey' exceeded 2 million cumulative viewers in 5 days, rapidly racing at the box office. As a result, theaters are lively with audiences drawn to see these two major titles. This contrasts with the recent slump in Korean film performance that had raised concerns about the crisis in theaters and the Korean film industry.
This is evidence that, apart from the spread of OTT, films that give audiences a reason to go to theaters can still succeed. It is not a rejection of Korean films; as with the film The King's Warden, released in February, which recorded 16.91 million cumulative viewers and rose to second place in the all-time box office, if there is a so-called "must-see" work, audiences will open their wallets without hesitation.
Furthermore, the way these films made effective use of the theatrical environment has also drawn audiences to theaters. 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' was created as the first Hollywood "Shot for SCREENX" work in history, considering the SCREENX viewing experience from the early production stages, and 'Odyssey' generated much anticipation before release by combining Christopher Nolan's characteristic visual style with newly developed IMAX filming technology. The fact that watching on a large screen rather than a small monitor provides a superior sense of presence served as one of the reasons audiences felt they "had to" see these films in theaters.
Meanwhile, as of 4:10 p.m. on the 10th, 'Odyssey' held an overwhelming reservation rate of 63.6% (612,434 people). 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' also recorded a reservation rate of 20.1% (193,756 people) even as it approaches the end of its second week, continuing to drive the box office together.
[Photo] Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures
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