The film 'Harbin' (directed by Woo Min-ho) attracted 380,000 viewers on its opening day, securing the top spot at the box office. This marks the highest opening score for a Korean film in December since the pandemic. Notably, it surpassed the opening scores of recent hit Korean films such as 'Seoul's Spring' (219,445 viewers on opening day) and 'The Drug King' (336,129 viewers on opening day), both of which achieved over 10 million admissions.
According to the integrated ticketing system of the Korean Film Council, the number of viewers for 'Harbin', which opened the previous day, is 381,546. As of 9:10 a.m. that day, the real-time reservation rate reached 545,879, with a booking rate of 51.8%, placing it first. The industry predicts that, if this trend continues, it may reach over 1 million viewers within two days of release.
'Harbin' depicts the journey leading up to the assassination of Ito Hirobumi by Ahn Jung-geun on October 26, 1909, capturing the breathless pursuits and suspicions between those heading toward Harbin before the incident and those chasing them. The film is produced by Hive Media Corp, which created 'Seoul's Spring,' and directed by Woo Min-ho, known for his work on 'The Director General's Office,' 'The Drug King,' 'The Inside Men,' and 'The Spy.' Actors Hyun Bin, Park Jung-min, Jo Woo-jin, Jeon Yeo-bin, and Lee Dong-wook grant appearances in the film.
Meanwhile, 'Firefighter' directed by Kwak Kyung-taek, which held the daily box office top spot until now, dropped to second place with 81,135 viewers. The third place is taken by 'Mufasa: The Lion King,' the fourth by 'Moana 2,' and the fifth by 'Crayon Shin-chan: Our Dinosaur Diary.'