Boosted by the huge success of the local cop comedy "Extreme Job," South Korean movie theaters attracted the highest number of admissions of all time for February, a report from a market tracker showed Tuesday.

The number of admissions in local theaters was up 43.2 percent to 22.28 million last month, with sales jumping 50.3 percent to 190 billion won ($167.87 million), according to the monthly report by the Korean Film Council.

KOFIC attributed the bullish sales to the presence of the box-office sensation "Extreme Job," seen by more than 10 million people last month alone. It is now the second most-viewed film of all time in the country, selling more than 16.25 million tickets as of Monday.

"'Extreme Job' has benefited from the weak performance of big-budget films released before and after the Christmas holiday in December," the report said. "It brought to theaters many viewers who had postponed their visits to theaters with no good titles to watch in the winter season and then took control of the Lunar New Year's Day peak season."

Various other Korean films, such as "Innocent Witness" and "A Resistance," also fared well at the box office.

Korean films, accordingly, attracted 17.23 million admissions last month, 2.5 times more than a year ago, with ticket sales increasing 2.6 times to 146.3 billion won.

On the contrary, non-Korean titles saw 41 percent and 37 percent fewer admissions and sales, with the manga-inspired American action epic "Alita: Battle Angel" being the only film to hit the box office. (Yonhap)