Begin Again, starring Keira Knightley, has become the most-watched independent film of all time in South Korean theaters. The country has already been the most successful market for the music drama.
According to the Korean Film Council’s KOBIS database on Tuesday, the music drama brought in 2.94 million admissions, topping the indie film record of 2.93 million admissions held for the past five years by local documentary Old Partner.
Korea uses admissions as the primary measure of box-office success, and the 10,000-admission mark is considered a blockbuster performance for indie and art-house works in a country with a population of some 50 million.
In financial terms, the film, handled by Pancinema, has grossed more than $22.13 million.
Ranking second in the Korean box-office chart for the second consecutive week, Begin Again had already surpassed box-office revenue back home last week. The film has grossed $16.1 million in the U.S.
Read more Tribeca: ‘Begin Again’ Stars Keira Knightley and Adam Levine Talk Challenges of Singing, Acting
The John Carney film has been steadily climbing the charts in Korea, despite having opened more than 50 days ago, on Aug. 13. Observers are expecting the film about a heartbroken singer-songwriter to cross 3 million admissions in the coming days, becoming one of the year’s highest-grossing imported titles in a market usually dominated by homegrown movies.
Meanwhile, The Maze Runner topped the Korean box office for the second consecutive weekend. It has so far grossed $12.29 million (1.68 million admissions).
Two local titles distributed by Lotte Entertainment, gambling film Tazza 2 and maritime adventure The Pirates, continue to do well in the third and fifth places, respectively. Very Good Girls, starring Dakota Fanning, who is very popular in Korea and models for local brands, debuted in fourth place.
