"WOOCHI" sets box office record on opening day

Korean movie "WOOCHI" set a Korean box office record on its opening day, according to the film's distributor CJ Entertainment on Thursday.

The movie -- shown on 597 screens around the country -- attracted 201,682 viewers on December 23, the highest opening-day figure set by a Korean movie which opened this year.

It surpasses the opening-day admission records previously set in July by "Take Off" and the year's biggest blockbuster "Haeundae", which drew 120,000 and 194,000 viewers, respectively.

"The biggest advantage of 'WOOCHI' is that it's a family movie and that it is dominating local markets around the country," said Kim Hyung-ho, executive at ticket reservation site Maxmovie. Kim further explained that ticket reservation rate was the highest among people in their teens and in their 40s, which seemingly indicates that parents and children are making reservations together.

"WOOCHI" is a fantasy action hero movie about a young Taoist from the Chosun Dynasty who gets locked into a painting with his dog. He and the dog must fight the goblins in 2009 in exchange for their freedom.

The film, which stars Kang Dong-won, Kim Yoon-seok and Im Soo-jeong, was directed and produced by director Choi Dong-hoon, famous for "The War Of Flower" and "The Big Swindle".

Reporter : Ko Kyoung-seok kave@asiae.co.kr
Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@asiae.co.kr