Japanese animated fantasy “Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island” climbed to the top of the South Korean box office over the weekend of Oct. 9–11, winning a razor-thin admissions contest against local political thriller “The Assassin(s).”
According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the Toho-distributed anime generated $3.13 million from 407,895 admissions across 1,067 screens, claiming 29.7% of the weekend market. Directed by Kei Oikawa and adapted from the popular manga by Nagano, the fantasy feature follows the titular character and companions venturing to a remote island retreat before unraveling a supernatural peril. Having opened wide on Sep. 30, the film has accumulated $9.9 million from 1,281,485 total admissions.
Director Hur Jin-ho’s period crime investigation “The Assassin(s)” moved to second place by a margin of just 215 tickets, pulling in $3.03 million from 407,680 admissions across 1,312 screens to represent 28.78% of the frame. Distributed by Hive Media Corp, the drama reconstructs the August 15, 1974 assassination attempt on President Park Chung-hee and stars Yu Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho as figures probing contradictions in the state’s official inquiry.
The box office resilience comes despite intense political blowback and legal challenges, with conservative civic groups, lawmakers, and bereaved family members accusing the production of historical distortion and filing defamation complaints over its suggestion that internal government forces may have orchestrated the shooting that killed First Lady Yuk Young-soo. The mounting controversy triggered protests outside lead actor Yu Hae-jin’s private residence and forced cast members to withdraw from public promotional appearances at the Busan International Film Festival, prompting a coalition of 19 Korean film guilds to issue a joint statement defending cinematic freedom of expression. Since its launch on Sep. 23, the release has amassed $21.8 million from 2,992,543 viewers, placing it on the verge of the three-million-ticket milestone.
CJ ENM’s gambling crime drama “Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub” held third place in its third weekend, earning $1.4 million from 190,080 admissions across 949 screens for a 13.97% market share. Directed by Choi Kook-hee and starring Byun Yo-han, Noh Jae-won, and Ayaka Miyoshi, the fourth installment in the comic-adapted franchise has grossed $13.1 million from 1,744,160 admissions since bowing on Sep. 23.
Universal’s tentpole “The Odyssey” finished in fourth place in its tenth weekend, drawing $979,402 from 95,215 admissions across 597 screens. The Christopher Nolan-directed epic took 9.2% of weekend receipts. Its cumulative South Korean gross reached $103.1 million from 12.1 million admissions. The film is now the highest-grossing international release in Korean box office history.
Lotte Entertainment’s action fantasy “Reawakened Man” took fifth place in its second weekend, taking $398,045 from 49,345 admissions across 623 screens. Directed by Baek Seung-ryong and starring Koo Kyo-hwan as a man who repeatedly resurrects three days after death to combat criminal syndicates, the webtoon adaptation lifted its cume to $2.2 million from 302,355 admissions.
Director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s live-action manga adaptation “Look Back” opened in sixth place, earning $339,468 from 41,423 admissions across 338 screens. Distributed by Megabox Central and adapted from the coming-of-age one-shot manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the Venice competition title tracks the evolving artistic bond and tragedy shared by two small-town manga creators. Counting previews ahead of its Oct. 8 release, the drama has grossed $498,804 from 62,383 admissions.
Japanese horror director Takashi Shimizu’s supernatural chiller “The Mouths” debuted in seventh place, pulling in $256,120 from 33,271 admissions across 544 screens. Starring Rihito Itagaki and Ai Yoshikawa, the cemetery-curse thriller has grossed $377,563 from 50,473 admissions since its Oct. 07 rollout.
Focus Features’ horror title “Obsession” placed eighth in its sixth frame, collecting $147,967 from 17,363 admissions across 206 screens. Written and directed by Curry Barker, the release lifted its domestic gross to $7.6 million from 955,136 admissions.
Warner Bros.’ satirical black comedy “Digger”, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and starring Tom Cruise, took ninth place with $131,473 from 16,800 admissions across 348 screens, pushing its cumulative total to $557,590 from 70,497 admissions.
Rounding out the top 10, Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Endgame Encore” brought in $113,467 from 13,060 admissions across 66 screens, lifting its cumulative total to $1.5 million from 173,356 admissions.
The overall market collective gross for the weekend was $10.5 million, down from last week’s $12.6 million.