The breeze in the morning and evening is cool. That hot summer is over. The blockbuster battles of the summer movie season are slowly winding down. The outcome was decided early. Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" won, the big franchise 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' took second, and much later Director Na Hong-jin's "HOPE" finished third to break the tape.
On the 11th, according to the integrated ticketing network's tally, "The Odyssey" drew 64,835 viewers the previous day to hold the top spot; second was the newly released new horror " Obsession" with 27,617, and third was "Spider-Man" with 12,882. "HOPE" also managed to cling to the top five by drawing 4,468 viewers while still maintaining some life.
"The Odyssey," which saw director Nolan and major cast members including Matt Damon and Charlize Theron all visit the country and put great effort into marketing, achieved better-than-expected results with a total audience of 10,333,247 as of the close on the 10th. With Nolan's solid base of Korean fans, and despite some divisive opinions, the combination of outstanding workmanship and direction and the passionate performances of the lead and supporting actors came together to achieve the milestone of 10 million admissions, experts say.
Although it was overtaken by "The Odyssey," sources in the film industry say "Spider-Man" also did its part at the box office. Serving as the spearhead of Marvel's revival amid severe stagnation, it effectively played the role of the "filial spider" that turned fans' attention back.
"HOPE," which had been expected to be this year's second Korean film to reach 10 million, unfortunately lost box office momentum amid various controversies. It failed to sustain the first week's hot enthusiasm, lost steam starting in its third week when it should have built long-run traction, and was pushed back by the invasion of Hollywood blockbusters.
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