Director Hur Jin-ho's political crime thriller, "The Assassin(s)," maintained its stronghold on the admissions chart, drawing 412,012 moviegoers across 1,129 screens. This impressive turnout translated to $3 million in revenue, capturing nearly 24% of the market share. The film, which has been at the center of political discussion, delves into the August 15, 1974 assassination attempt on President Park Chung-hee and the tragic death of First Lady Yuk Young-soo. Starring Yu Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho as investigators probing inconsistencies in the official inquiry, "The Assassin(s)" has accumulated a total of $16.3 million from over 2.2 million admissions since its release on September 23.
In a strong counter-performance, Kei Oikawa's "Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island" emerged as the weekend's top earner. Despite placing second in admissions with 405,978 tickets sold across 1,055 screens, the animated fantasy adventure raked in $3.2 million, accounting for over 25% of theatrical receipts. Adapted from Nagano's popular manga, the film follows the endearing Chiikawa and friends on a journey to a mythical island, where they encounter a mysterious aquatic legend. Including nationwide previews, the anime has garnered $4.7 million from more than 600,000 total admissions since its wide launch on September 30.
The broader box office landscape also featured several other notable titles. "Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub," the fourth installment in the comic-adapted gambling crime drama franchise, held onto third place in its second weekend. Directed by Choi Kook-hee and featuring Byun Yo-han, Noh Jae-won, and Ayaka Miyoshi, it added $2.2 million from nearly 300,000 admissions, pushing its cumulative gross to $10.2 million from over 1.3 million viewers.
Long-running hit "The Odyssey" continued its impressive theatrical run, securing fourth place in its ninth frame. It added $1.2 million from 123,059 admissions, bringing its local gross to a staggering $101.2 million from nearly 12 million ticket buyers, just shy of the significant 12-million-ticket milestone.
Newcomer "Reawakened Man," an action fantasy adapted from a popular webtoon, debuted in fifth place. The film, directed by Baek Seung-ryong and starring Koo Kyo-hwan, follows a job-seeker who discovers a unique ability to resurrect three days after dying, which he uses to combat criminal syndicates. It earned $885,217 from 115,894 admissions over the weekend, with its total reaching $1.4 million from almost 190,000 viewers since its mid-week premiere.
Auteur Lee Chang-dong's Venice award-winning "Possible Love," South Korea's official international feature film submission, landed in sixth place with $482,385 from 60,534 admissions. The film, starring Jeon Do-yeon and Sul Kyung-gu, has grossed $1.7 million from over 230,000 admissions since its September 23 debut.
Rounding out the top ten were "Obsession" in seventh, Warner Bros. Korea's remake "The Intern" in eighth, the newly opened "Digger" in ninth, and "Avengers: Endgame Encore" holding strong in tenth place. The collective gross for the entire market for the weekend stood at $12.6 million, a noticeable drop from the previous week's $19.6 million, indicating a return to more typical box office figures after a holiday boost.