Jang Hang Jun’s film The King’s Warden is on the verge of becoming Korea’s highest-grossing movie of all time, after surpassing 139.4 billion KRW (approx. 92.3 million USD) at the box office.
According to the Korean Film Council, the film reached a total gross of 139,466,324,080 KRW as of March 21st.
That figure already puts it ahead of The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014), which drew 17.61 million viewers and earned about 135.75 billion KRW. The only record left to beat is the all-time box office revenue held by Extreme Job (2019), which stands at 139.65 million KRW.
What makes the film’s run even more impressive is its rapid climb. As of March 19th, it had grossed 134.56 billion KRW, but in just two days, it surged past the previous record. From March 20th to 21st alone, the film jumped from 136.02 billion KRW to 139.46 billion KRW.
At this pace, industry watchers expect it to officially claim the No. 1 spot as early as March 22nd.
The film is also setting milestones in admissions. As the 22nd, it has drawn 14.44 million viewers, surpassing Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017), which recorded 14.41 million admissions.
With both revenue and audience records within reach, all eyes are on just how far The King’s Warden can go.
UPDATE:
The King’s Warden has broken a new record by becoming the highest-grossing domestic release in terms of cumulative box office revenue. It has also continued its box office success by surpassing Along with the Gods and Ode to My Father in terms of audience numbers.
According to the integrated movie ticketing system on the 23rd, The King’s Warden has earned a total of 142.5 billion won ($94 million) in box office revenue. This surpasses the previous record holders, Extreme Job (139.6 billion won – $92.6 million) and The Admiral: Roaring Currents (135.7 billion won – $90 million). While the increase in ticket prices has had an effect, it is also seen as the result of sustained dominance at the box office and long-term success since its release.
Over the weekend from the 20th to 22nd, The King’s Warden added over 803,000 viewers with a market share of 52.2% to remain at the top of the box office. The film’s total audience count has now reached 14.75 million, pushing Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds (14.41 million) and Ode to My Father (14.25 million) down to become the third highest-grossing domestic release of all time. Currently, the top two films in terms of audience count are The Admiral: Roaring Currents (17.61 million) and Extreme Job (16.26 million).
As of 8 AM on the 23rd, the real-time ticket reservation rate shows Project Hail Mary in first place with 34.3%, while The King’s Warden is in second with 25.0%.
>> ‘The King’s Warden’ Surpasses 13 Million Viewers, Becomes Biggest Korean Film Since Pandemic
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