[Weekend Box Office] ‘Detective Conan’ Opens at No. 1 With 25,000 Moviegoers; ‘Chiikawa’ Leads in Advance Sales

New counterfeit-currency mystery draws 25,000 moviegoers on opening day to take the top spot

‘Detective Conan: The Case of the 30th Murder,’ a feature film in Japan’s megahit anime franchise, opened at No. 1 at the box office.

According to data from the Korean Film Council’s Integrated Computer Network on the 6th, ‘Detective Conan: The Case of the 30th Murder’ drew about 25,000 moviegoers the previous day, its opening day, to claim the No. 1 spot at the box office. It accounted for 22.2% of the day’s box-office revenue, capturing a substantial share of moviegoers.

The latest film is a full-fledged mystery investigation centered on a large-scale plot involving counterfeit new banknotes. In a gripping, polished story, Conan, Japan’s nationwide police organizations and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) work together to avert national chaos and crisis while pursuing the truth behind the case.

‘Final Interview,’ a battle of revelations in a locked room, takes second place with a tense psychological showdown among six young actors

The Korean film ‘Final Interview,’ which opened in theaters on the 4th, ranked second with about 19,000 moviegoers, accounting for 16.4% of box-office revenue.

Directed by ‘Kim Jeong-hun,’ ‘Final Interview’ is a densely plotted psychological thriller about six job seekers who reach the final stage of recruitment at a leading conglomerate and encounter mysterious envelopes at the interview, each containing a hidden flaw and secret about one of them.

The film is a sturdy adaptation tailored to local sensibilities of the same-titled Japanese novel and film, ‘Six Lying University Students,’ which drew considerable attention. Rising young actors in the Korean film industry, including ‘Kim Jae-won,’ ‘Cho Yi-hyun,’ ‘Shin Seung-ho,’ ‘Kang Yoo-seok,’ ‘Kwak Dong-yeon’ and ‘Bae Kang-hee,’ play six job applicants faced with the biggest choice of their lives, creating razor-sharp tension.

‘Chiikawa’ rides its box-office run to the top of weekend advance sales, facing fierce competition from a new Hollywood release

The blockbuster ‘Heart of Beast,’ starring Hollywood A-lister ‘Brad Pitt,’ held on to third place at the box office, drawing about 18,000 moviegoers (15.2%). Close behind, ‘Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island,’ backed by strong fan support, settled into fourth place with about 12,000 moviegoers (10.9%).

Since opening on September 30, ‘Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island’ has drawn a cumulative audience of about 2.639 million, sustaining its unstoppable long-running box-office hit status.

The race for advance ticket sales, a leading indicator of weekend attendance, showed a different picture. As of 9 a.m. that day, ‘Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island’ was leading the advance-sales rankings with 23.0% of advance sales, or about 63,000 tickets.

‘Final Interview’ was close behind in second place with 11.7%, or about 32,000 tickets, while ‘Detective Conan: The Case of the 30th Murder,’ which topped the box office that day, was hoping for a weekend rebound from third place with 9.3%, or about 25,000 tickets. Also making the list in fourth place, with 6.0%, or about 16,000 tickets, was ‘Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie,’ which has a dedicated following. The weekend box office is expected to see fierce competition among films spanning a range of genres.