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'The King's Warden' dominates Lunar New Year holiday box office

Published: 19 Feb. 2026, 11:07 Updated: 19 Feb. 2026, 16:33

A still from the film, ″The King's Warden″ is seen in this image provided by Showbox Co. [YONHAP]

The historical drama "The King's Warden" dominated the Lunar New Year box office, drawing more than 2.6 million viewers, data showed Thursday.

The film attracted a total of 2.67 million admissions during the extended holiday from Friday to Wednesday, accounting for 62.5 percent of total box-office revenue, according to the Korean Film Council.

Its cumulative audience has reached 4.17 million since its Feb. 4 release, making it this year's biggest box-office hit to date and easily surpassing the romance film "Once We Were Us" (2025), the previous record holder with 2.56 million viewers.

Directed by Jang Hang-jun, "The King's Warden" reimagines historical events through a fictional lens, following the unlikely friendship between village chief Eom Heung-do (Yoo Hai-jin) and the young, deposed King Danjong (Park Ji-hoon) during the latter's exile in the village.

The runner-up, Ryoo Seung-wan's action thriller "Humint," drew 980,000 moviegoers during the five-day period, bringing its total to 1.28 million. The film was released Feb. 11.

Yonhap