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Director Yeon Sang-ho's new film 'The Ugly' debuts at No.1

Published: 12 Sep. 2025, 21:34 Updated: 04 Oct. 2025, 09:52

KIM MIN-YOUNG
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A still cut from the film ″The Ugly″ [KOFIC]

The film "The Ugly," directed by Yeon Sang-ho, debuted at No. 1 at the box office this week.

The film opened in theaters Thursday and drew 35,020 moviegoers, according to data released Friday by the Korea Box Office Information System (Kobis), placing it at the top of the box office. Its cumulative audience numbers reached 35,318 as of Friday.

"The Ugly" follows a story that unravels a mystery that had been buried for 40 years surrounding a mother's death. The film is the latest work by director Yeon, known for "Train to Busan" (2016) and "Peninsula" (2020), and stars Park Jeong-min, Kwon Hae-hyo, Shin Hyun-bin, Lim Sung-jae and Han Ji-hyun.

Director Yeon completed "The Ugly" with an ultralow budget of 200 million won ($143,700) alongside some 20 filmmaking colleagues, using just 2 weeks of preproduction and 13 shooting sessions.

"Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle," directed by Haruo Sotozaki and released on Aug. 22, ranked No. 2 with 33,828 viewers. Its total audience has reached 4,135,781.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]