[Holiday Box Office] Jun Ji-hyun X Yeon Sang-ho’s ‘Swarm’ Surpasses 2 Million Admissions…Beats the Pace of ‘The King and the Man’

The evolution of a K-zombie thriller that takes over theaters, ‘Swarm’ sparks box-office surge

South Korea’s screens have been fully taken over. During the Buddha’s Birthday holiday, the film that instantly reshaped the theater landscape was Director Yeon Sang-ho’s ambitious work ‘Swarm’. Marketed with the overpowering two-top billing of ‘Jun Ji-hyun’ and ‘Koo Kyo-hwan’, this K-zombie thriller is cruising to success, easily surpassing 2 million cumulative admissions.

An analysis by the Korea Film Ticket Integrated Computer Network shows ‘Swarm’ drew some 1.8 million viewers from the 22nd through the 25th, topping the box office with an astonishing 71.6% share of sales. The 2 million-admission milestone achieved in just 5 days since release is the fastest box-office pace of the year, shattering the 12-day mark of ‘The King and the Man’, a film that previously wrote the 16 million-admissions myth.

Set in a limited space—a sealed building—‘Swarm’ is a brutal survival story forged by an ensemble of top-tier actors who earn trust just by their names alone, including ‘Ji Chang-wook’, ‘Shin Hyun-been’, ‘Kim Shin-rok’, and ‘Go Soo’. Their nail-biting struggle gives audiences an unforgettable sense of immersion.

Meanwhile, box office No. 2 went to the pop icon’s biopic ‘Michael’ (about 376,000 viewers), followed by ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ (about 93,000 viewers) and ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ (about 61,000 viewers). Right now, ‘Swarm’’s ticket share stands at 35.6% (about 117,000 viewers), holding onto first place firmly—so it doesn’t look like there will be a challenger to halt this unrelenting solo run for the time being.

Will it become ‘Swarm’’s challenger? Comedy hit ‘Wild Thing’ ready to take the stage

Even amid an overwhelming solo box-office run, the pursuit by dark horses aiming to reshape the next phase of the hits is fierce. The film that’s closing in in second place for ticket share is the comedy ‘Wild Thing’, set to open next month on the 3rd (13.4%, about 44,000 viewers).

‘Kang Dong-won’, ‘Eom Tae-goo’, and ‘Park Ji-hyun’ form an unconventional casting lineup in ‘Wild Thing’. The film follows the ups and downs of a fictional popular co-ed group, Triangle, which reunites for a chaotic comeback performance that once captivated audiences in the 2000s. With polished humor and bold transformations from the cast in the works, it’s piquing the curiosity of prospective viewers.

Elsewhere, attention is also drawn to distinctive content that is driving diversification in theaters. ‘Playve’, a key figure behind the virtual idol craze, captures a live performance in ‘Playve Asia Tour [Dash: Quantum Leap] Encore in Cinema’ (8.9%), and the new Star Wars universe release ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ (8.8%), which boasts a loyal global fandom, both move into the upper ranks of ticket share side by side—signaling an intense theater battle ahead.