'The Assassin(s)' slips to No. 2 in weekend box office

The Korean film “The Assassin(s)” attracted more than 400,000 viewers over the weekend, despite controversy over its historical details, but slipped to No. 2 at the box office, industry data showed on Monday.

The film garnered 407,680 admissions over the weekend, bringing its cumulative total to 2,992,544 as of Sunday, according to the Korean Film Council. The council’s weekend chart compiles ticket sales from Friday through Sunday.

“The Assassin(s)” centers on the 1974 assassination attempt on then-President Park Chung Hee that resulted in the death of the first lady. Blending the actual event with fictional elements, the film has drawn backlash, mostly from conservative critics, over its alleged historical inaccuracies.

Following its release on Sept. 23, the film topped the weekend box office chart for two consecutive weeks. It drew 412,004 admissions the previous weekend.

The Japanese animation “Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island” topped the chart by a narrow margin, drawing 407,895 admissions and bringing its cumulative ticket sales to 1,281,485.

Other Korean films continued to perform strongly. The crime film “Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub” ranked No. 3 with 190,080 admissions, and the webtoon-based Korean film “Reawaken Man: The Red” came in at No. 5 with 49,345 admissions.

The Hollywood epic “The Odyssey,” which has become the most watched foreign film in Korea this year, ranked No. 4 with 95,218 admissions. Its cumulative admissions have surpassed 12 million.

Elsewhere on the chart, Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new film “Look Back,” released on Thursday, debuted at No. 6 with 41,423 admissions, according to the data.

Yonhap