Photo courtesy of Yeolgong Film Production Studio
The film ‘Shinmyeong’, which is said to be based on former First Lady Kim Kun-hee, is expected to be a ‘sparkling hit’, ranking second at the box office a day before the presidential election.
According to the integrated computer network for movie tickets on the 3rd, ‘Shinmyeong’ ranked 2nd at the box office on the 2nd, the first day of its release and the day before the presidential election, mobilizing 61,118 moviegoers nationwide.This figure surpassed ‘Mission Impossible - Final Reckoning’ (3rd place)which mobilized 59,922 moviegoers on the same day, and showed a slight difference from the domestic blockbuster ‘High Five’ (1st place, 75,559 moviegoers)which had a production cost of 20 billion won.
Photo courtesy of Yeolgong Film Production Studio
In particular, this achievement of ‘Shinmyeong’ is even more noteworthy because it was achieved under unfavorable conditions of significantly fewer screens and screenings compared to competing films.The number of screens on the opening day of ‘Shinmyeong’ was only 536, and the number of screenings was only 1,296.This is a valuable result achieved solely by the power of the film and explosive word-of-mouth from the audience, despite the screening opportunities being less than half of those of the films ranked 1st and 3rd at the box office.
This early success of ‘Shinmyeong’, which was close to a syndrome, is analyzed to be due to the strong copy and lines that sharply dig into reality such as “I sat in the place of the dead while alive!” , “It all started with her”, and “My wife is connected to a shaman? That’s all fake news”, the possessed acting transformation of actress Kim Gyu-ri and the overwhelming synchronization reminiscent of the ‘former first lady’, and the genre appeal of the first ‘occult political thriller’ attempted in South Korea, which all resonated with the audience.
‘Shinmyeong’ depicts the fierce battle between Yoon Ji-hee(played by Kim Gyu-ri), a woman who seeks to seize power using mystical powers, and a journalist who digs up the great truth hidden above her.
Reporter Seungmi smlee@donga.com
This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.
