‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Opens in Second Place at Korea Box Office as ‘The Firefighters’ Stays on Top

Local hit “The Firefighters” continued to lead the South Korean box office above a brace of Disney titles.

In its third weekend, “The Firefighters” remained in the top spot with a $3.3 million gross, 510,975 admissions and a 35.4% market share, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. The film now has a cumulative gross of $16.8 million in the territory. However, the total box office for the top 10 titles remains below $10 million, continuing its sluggish pace.

Directed by Kwak Gyeong-Taek (“A Love”), “The Firefighters” revolves around a fire station in Seoul, where a rookie firefighter joins the Rescue Unit and is quickly sent out on his first mission alongside a seasoned veteran, celebrated for saving many lives. In the chaos of a raging fire, the veteran defies the chief’s orders to withdraw, determined to save an occupant. Though he succeeds in rescuing a young girl, the mission ends in tragedy with the loss of a colleague. Tension builds as the rookie confronts the veteran, blaming him for the loss. Amid their unresolved conflict, they are called to another fire.

Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” opened in second place with a weekend take of $1.6 million, 235,279 admissions, a 17.1% market share and has a cumulative total of $2.1 million over the five-day weekend. “Moana 2” moved down a spot to third place with $1.3 million, 198,246 admissions, an 13.6% market share and a total of $19.3 million.

Anime “Crayon Shin-chan: Ora’s Dinosaur Diary” climbed seven spots to fourth position with $1.2 million, 185,754 admissions, a 12.7% market share and cume of $1.6 million. Rounding off the top five was “Wicked,” which moved down two spots with $681,000, 100,816 admissions, a 7.1% market share and a total of $12.7 million.

“About Family,” a Korean comedy about a man who’s an elite medical student who decided to become a priest, earned $219,000 in sixth place over the weekend and now has a total of $1.7 million.

In seventh place, “The Substance,” starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, collected $200,000 for a total of $750,000. Documentary “First Lady” that examines the controversies around Kim Keon-hee, the wife of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, released at a time of political turmoil in the country. It grossed $110,000 in eighth place and has a total of $445,000 so far.

New entry “Harbin,” a visually striking period drama from Woo Min-ho, led by Hyun Bin, which follows Korean independence activists who launched an attack in Harbin against the Japanese to gain their country’s independence, earned $156,000 in previews ahead of its Christmas Eve release. The film bowed at Toronto earlier this year.