‘Escape’ Rises to Weekend Market Leader

“Escape,” a Korean-made action drama that has been on release for most of the month, took the lead at the South Korean box office over the latest weekend.

The film recounts the story of a North Korean soldier who dreams of defecting and the South Korean officer who pursues him. It is directed by Lee Jong-pil, who previously made surprise 2020 hit “Samjin Company English Class.” It stars Lee Je-hoon and Koo Kyo-hwan in the lead roles.

“Escape” earned $2.61 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). That represented an unusual 7% week-on-week gain for the film, suggesting strong word of mouth sentiment. After 19 days on release “Escape” has accumulated $13.0 million, earned from 1.9 million spectators.

“Inside Out 2,” which headed the chart for the previous five weeks, slipped to second place. It earned $1.98 million over the weekend to extend its cumulative total to $55.8 million and further cement its place as the top import title of the year-to-date in Korea.

The weekend’s top new release was Japanese animation title “Detective Conan the Movie: The Million Dollar Pentagram.” It took top-spot on Wednesday, the day of its release, and slipped to second position on Thursday and Friday, before slipping further to third on Saturday and Sunday. Over the standard Friday to Sunday weekend “Conan” earned $1.58 million. Over its full five-day opening run, it managed $2.71 million.

Notwithstanding the better-than-expected endurance of “Escape” and “Handsome Guys,” the summer season, once a high point for box office in Korea, is losing momentum. Aggregate nationwide receipts over the weekend slipped 12% and were a lackluster $10.4 million.

“Handsome Guys,” a modestly-budgeted Korean adaptation of “Tucker & Dale vs Evil,” held strongly in its fourth weekend of release. It earned $1.23 million for a…