Director Bong Joon-ho’s Hollywood movie “Mickey 17” has surpassed 1 million moviegoers at the Korean box office in just four days since its release, reaffirming the Korean director’s strong appeal with audiences.
The film, starring Robert Pattinson, debuted in Korea on Friday, just a day before the start of the March 1 Independence Movement holiday, which lasts until Monday.
According to the Korea Box Office Information System, the movie drew 376,193 moviegoers on Sunday, bringing its cumulative audience to 986,898.
As of Monday 6:55 a.m., the cumulative number of viewers reached 1,117,586, surpassing 1 million viewers on the fourth day of its release.
In the sci-fi film, Pattinson plays Mickey, a disposable clone sent on perilous missions who is regenerated after each death.
The narrative intensifies when Mickey’s 18th version is mistakenly created while Mickey 17 is still alive, leading to a series of unexpected events.
Bong explained that the film, based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel “Mickey7,” aims to convey that human nature persists even in the face of extreme adversity.
The box office success of “Mickey 17” can be attributed to two main factors: it’s a new film from Bong Joon-ho, the director of acclaimed movies like “Parasite,” and its release just before the long three-day holiday.
Its distributor, Warner Bros. Korea, said the film’s performance at the box office is comparable to “Inside Out 2,” which recorded the highest number of moviegoers among foreign films released last year, with 8.79 million admissions.
Furthermore, “Mickey 17” surpassed 1 million moviegoers faster than Christopher Nolan’s 2023 film “Oppenheimer,” demonstrating that director Bong’s new world and message have once again captivated the hearts of domestic audiences.
