The film "Hope," which had dominated theaters, stepped down from the throne after 15 days as a competing overseas blockbuster arrived and controversy over the lead actor's personal life mounted.
According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) integrated computer network on the 31st, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" drew 441,554 moviegoers on the 30th alone to top the box office. The cumulative audience reached 1,131,222, surpassing 1 million viewers two days after its release.
On its opening day, the 29th, the film attracted about 688,000 viewers in a single day to take No. 1 at the box office. It not only posted the highest opening score among all films released this year, but also set the best first-day performance of any standalone Spider-Man series starring Tom Holland. It broke all first-day records of the previously popular "Homecoming" (about 540,000), "Far From Home" (about 670,000), and "No Way Home" (about 630,000).
By contrast, "Hope," directed by Na Hong-jin, added only 67,626 viewers the same day. Hope had around 100,000 daily viewers through the 28th, before the new Spider-Man opened, but on the 29th it added only about 87,000 viewers and fell to second place. Since its first screening on the 15th, "Hope" had held the top spot for 14 straight days, setting the best opening of the year and riding a strong box-office run, but it could not withstand the onslaught of a major competitor.
The gap widened further in advance ticketing. As of this morning, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" led with a 66.8% reservation rate and about 810,000 reserved viewers. Christopher Nolan's new film "Odyssey," opening on the 5th, followed at 16.6%, while "Hope" stayed at 6.4% and slipped to third.
Hope's slide appears to have been influenced by both the rival's offensive and legal wrangling over the private life of lead actor Hwang Jung-min. Recently, on online communities and social media (SNS), a post by a person identified as A claiming to have maintained an inappropriate relationship with Hwang since 2024 spread, sparking controversy. Citing captured screenshots of messenger conversations and recorded call files, A claimed Hwang continued private contact and meetings.
Hwang's side countered that the claims are groundless. Agency Sam Company said in an official stance on the 29th that "the person who wrote the malicious posts about Hwang Jung-min is a stalking crime suspect who persistently harassed Hwang Jung-min," and stated accordingly. It added, "The court imposed temporary measures including restraining orders against the suspect three times and, recognizing the stalking charges, issued a summary order of a 3 million won fine."