Korean film 'The Intern' debuts atop weekend box office

The Korean remake of the Hollywood hit "The Intern" (2015) debuted at No. 1 on the weekend box-office chart in Korea, snapping a weekslong chart-topping run by Christopher Nolan's epic "The Odyssey," data showed Monday.

The Korean film, which opened Wednesday, added 275,186 admissions over the weekend, bringing its total admissions to 403,906 as of Sunday, according to the data released by the Korean Film Council, which compiles admissions from Friday through Sunday for its weekend chart.

Starring Choi Min-sik as Ki-ho and Han So-hee as Sun-woo, who take on the roles played by Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway in the original film, respectively, the remake captures the unlikely bond between a young woman entrepreneur and an older intern at her fashion startup.

"The Odyssey" remained a major box-office hit, drawing 256,793 admissions over the weekend, bringing its total admissions to 11.2 million.

Other Hollywood films also performed strongly, with the horror film "Obsession" adding 131,467 admissions. Its total admissions reached 701,713.

The horror blockbuster "Resident Evil: Night Zero," released Thursday, drew 80,779 admissions, while "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" attracted 33,636 admissions, according to the data.

As of 8:10 a.m. Monday, the upcoming Korean historical thriller "The Assassin(s)" accounted for 29 percent of advance ticket sales, followed by "The Odyssey" at 22.2 percent.

"Tazza: Song of Beelzebub," the final sequel of the long-running Korean film crime franchise, "Tazza," accounted for 13.9 percent. The film is set for release Wednesday.

Yonhap