The Michael Jackson biographical drama “Michael” comfortably claimed the top position at the South Korean box office during the weekend of May 15–17.
According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the Lionsgate and Universal Pictures international release earned $3.6 million from 470,375 admissions, securing a dominant 51.03% share of the weekend market. It has amassed a cumulative gross of $4.8 million from 647,916 admissions since its mid-week launch on May 13.
The high-fashion comedy sequel “The Devil Wears Prada 2” added $897,275 from 120,545 admissions. The film has accumulated $9.6 million from 1,444,286 admissions since its late-April launch.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” generated $829,213 from 123,558 tickets over the three-day frame. The film has now reached a cumulative gross of $9.4 million with total attendance tracking toward the 1.5 million mark.
The local horror-thriller sensation “Salmokji : Whispering Water” took fourth place, adding $669,972. Directed by Lee Sang-min, the genre hit reached a cumulative total of $21.6 million from 3,169,730 total admissions.
The Hollywood sci-fi holdover “Project Hail Mary” secured fifth place, adding $279,821 to push its total South Korean lifetime haul to $21.4 million. It was followed in sixth place by a specialty re-release of the 2022 blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick,” which cleared $136,047 over the weekend to take its Korean gross to $59 million.
The historic box office run of “The King’s Warden” took the seventh spot, adding $92,473. Now in its 15th week of release, the Jang Hang-jun historical drama has expanded its unparalleled domestic footprint to 16,863,925 total admissions, accumulating $108.3 million in total revenue.
The local horror-comedy sequel “Teaching Practice: Idiot Girls and School Ghost 2” debuted in eighth place, earning $74,384. Directed by Kim Min-ha as a standalone sequel to his 2024 feature, the film stars Han Sun-hwa as a passionate student teacher who, along with a high school black magic club, must survive a supernatural, deadly version of a mock exam orchestrated by a 400-year-old samurai ghost. Since its May 13 opening, it has grossed $123,356.
Rounding out the top 10 were a specialty screening of the 2004 romance classic “If Only” in ninth place with $96,354, and Jung Woo’s directorial debut “Audition 109” in 10th, which added $86,804 to bring its cumulative total to $2.6 million
The overall market collective gross for the weekend was $6.8 million, an improvement from last week’s $4.9 million.
