Superhero sequel “Iron Man 3” has dominated Korea’s box office for over three weeks, showing strong ticket sales since its opening on April 25. It is estimated to have sold about 7 million tickets as of May 12.

However, in its third week, the Hollywood blockbuster is losing steam at the box office, raising hopes for Korean filmmakers who are planning to release their latest movies.

“Iron Man 3” kicked off with 420,000 viewers on the first day of its release and its success continued with an average of more than 200,000 viewers each day for two consecutive weeks.

The number fell sharply in its third week in Korea’s theater chains. The figure went down to 112,000 viewers a day on May 9. The market share of the total ticket sales also went down to 60 percent, from 87.4 percent.

Some observers had expected the superhero movie to set a box office record like “Avatar,” which held as high as 91.7 percent of all ticket sales in 2009. 

Korean movies are now readying to claim back their share. “National Singing Contest,” directed by well-known Korean comedian Lee Kyung-kyu, was released on May 1 and sold 729,470 tickets to take the third place in the movie rankings chart.

“Boomerang Family,” released on May 9, came to carve out a 20 percent share of the ticket sales on its first day to be ranked second place with 357,343 viewers.

“Mina Stationary” and “Montage,” both Korean films, are set to open on May 16, and “Be Covert, Be Brave” starring Kim Soo-hyun, will premiere in June.

Jin Eun-soo, Intern reporter
(janna924@heraldcorp.com)