Park Chan-wook‘s Korean drama “No Other Choice,” headlined by Lee Byung-hun, opened at the top of the South Korean box office with $4.5 million from 609,280 admissions over Sept. 26–28, commanding 45.2% of weekend sales from 1,871 screens. According to KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the film has reached $7.4 million since its Sept. 24 launch.
Lee plays Man-su, a laid-off paper manufacturing specialist who resorts to serial murder to eliminate his competitors for a single job opening, only to discover the position exists to supervise AI testing.
Japanese feature “Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc” arrived second with $2.5 million, drawing 311,715 admissions on 1,064 screens for a 24.7% share. Its running total stands at $3.5 million after five days. The film adapts the “Reze” arc of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s hit manga. Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara with a screenplay by Hiroshi Seko, the movie follows Denji as his encounter with café worker Reze leads to a clash between intimate connection and bloody chaos. Voice cast includes Reina Ueda, Fairouz Ai, Tomori Kusunoki, and Maaya Uchida.
Japanese juggernaut “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle” ranked third with $907,483 (116,882 admissions) for a cumulative $38.5 million.
Yeon Sang-ho‘s “The Ugly” followed in fourth at $671,532 (90,002 admissions), lifting its cume to $6.6 million. “The Ugly” stars Park Jeong-min alongside Kwon Hae-hyo, Shin Hyun-been, Im Seong-jae, and Han Ji-hyun. The plot follows Dong-hwan, the son of a visually impaired seal engraving master, who discovers skeletal remains and investigates the long-hidden truth about his mother’s disappearance four decades earlier.
“Bread Barbershop: The Bakerytown Baddies” opened fifth with $386,132 from 58,845 admissions, while Studio Ghibli rerelease “Princess Mononoke” placed sixth with $134,317 to reach $1.4 million to date. Brad Pitt’s “F1” took seventh with $73,851, pushing its total to $38.7 million.
“Octonauts: Above and Beyond – Season 2” earned $86,893 in eighth (cume $99,823); “Detective Conan” added $86,221 in ninth (cume $540,446); and “Frankenstein: The Musical Live” was tenth with $164,609 (cume $860,931).
The top 10 films combined for $9.6 million over the Sept. 26–28 frame, up from approximately $5.7 million the previous weekend.
variety.com
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