Unstoppable 'Slam Dunk' Craze... 2nd Highest-Grossing Japanese Anime

Weekend Theaters Draw 860,000 Visitors

The movie 'The First Slam Dunk' maintained its position as the number one at the weekend box office and ranked second in the Japanese animation box office.

According to the Korea Film Council's integrated box office information system on the 13th, 'The First Slam Dunk' attracted 325,129 viewers over the three days of the past weekend (10th to 12th), securing the top spot at the box office. Since its release on the 4th of last month, the film has continued to gain popularity through word of mouth, surpassing a cumulative audience of 2,856,967.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

'The First Slam Dunk' surpassed 'Howl's Moving Castle' (2.61 million viewers) to become the second highest-grossing Japanese animation of all time. Attention is now on whether it will also surpass the number one, 'Your Name.' (3.79 million viewers).

The film captures the unstoppable passion, dreams, and challenges of the four members of the Buk San High School basketball team, who dream of nationwide domination. Based on the manga 'Slam Dunk' serialized weekly from 1990 to 1996 by author Takehiko Inoue, the film was adapted and brought to the screen by Inoue himself. By featuring Song Tae-seop as the protagonist instead of Kang Baek-ho, it evokes nostalgia among the 30s and 40s generation, while also attracting audiences in their teens and twenties, continuing its box office success.

The 1998 release 'Titanic' (director James Cameron) was re-released in 4K 3D and attracted 153,004 viewers, ranking second. This surpassed the 139,102 viewers of 'The Lion King 3D,' setting a new record for the highest weekend box office for a re-released foreign film.

In third place was 'Avatar: The Way of Water' (director James Cameron), which drew 77,729 viewers. Released on December 14 last year and the first film to surpass 10 million viewers this year, it has attracted a cumulative total of 10,679,520 viewers.

Fourth place went to 'Negotiation' (director Im Soon-rye), starring Hwang Jung-min and Hyun Bin; fifth to 'Babylon' (director Damien Chazelle); sixth to the musical film 'Hero' (director Yoon Je-kyun); seventh to 'Next Sohee' (director Jung Ju-ri); and eighth to 'Love Again.'

The total number of moviegoers who visited theaters over the weekend was 867,293.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.