Korean action drama “12.12: The Day” earns $90 million at the domestic box office and becomes the biggest film of 2023

Korean historical action drama 12.12: The day grossed $90.5 million and surpassed 12 million admissions at the Korean box office during the Christmas holiday, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2023.

The film, which released on November 22, overtook The summary: No way out both in terms of admission numbers and Christmas Day revenue. This is the first time in four years since the Oscar-winning drama was released parasite that a domestic non-franchise title exceeded 12 million admissions.

Disney’s Primary school is the third highest-grossing film of 2023 in Korea, earning $54 million from 7.2 million admissions upon its June 2023 release.

Directed by Kim Sung-soo, whose credits include: Asura: the city of madness And The flu, 12.12: The day is set against the backdrop of the real-life military coup of 1979, which led to an eight-year military junta in South Korea. The cast includes Hwang Jung-min (The whining), Jung Woo Sung (Asura: the city of madness) and Lee Sung-min (The spy in the north).

The film is produced by Hive Media Corp and distributed by Plus M Entertainment, which also handled local distribution The summary: No way out. The third film in a popular series starring Don Lee. The summary: No way out grossed $80 million and surpassed 10 million admissions upon release in May 2023.

But despite the success of these two titles, last year was a lackluster year for Korean films, which struggled to regain their box office in the wake of the pandemic.

By mid-year, Korean productions accounted for only 34.9% of the total box office and 36% of admissions in the January-June 2023 period, a significant decline from pre-pandemic days when local films typically exceeded 50 % market share won.

12.12: The day is still in release but fell to second place at the Korean box office on December 20 after the opening action drama Noryang: Dead Seathe final part of a trilogy that follows The Admiral: Raging Currents (2014) and Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022), where more than 900,000 tickets were sold during the holiday season.