A still from the film "The King s Warden" / Courtesy of Showbox

A historical comedy-drama about a 15th-century coup is defying Korean box office expectations, driven by an audience that has found profound parallels between the film's themes of absolute power and the short-lived declaration of martial law by former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Before "The King's Warden" was released on Feb. 4, director Jang Hang-jun expressed serious doubts about its blockbuster potential. "If I had directed it that well, I would have already done a '10 million' movie," Jang said in late January. "I am not a master director, right?"

He joked he would get plastic surgery, change his name and naturalize elsewhere if the film reached 10 million admissions. Now, with the milestone practically guaranteed, Jang declared he is overwhelmed. "It is a number I have never even imagined," he said. "I am spending day by day with a thankful heart."

The film saw about 194,000 viewers nationwide on Tuesday, bringing its cumulative audience to roughly 9,407,000, according to Korean Film Council data released Wednesday. Industry forecasts indicate the movie will cross the 10 million admissions mark — the benchmark for a domestic blockbuster — by Friday or Saturday.

It will become the 34th film overall and the 25th Korean film to reach this milestone in Korea. Distributor Showbox initially expected the film to hit the mark in mid-to-late March.

Jang Hang-jun, center, directs actors Park Ji-hoon, left, and Jeon Mi-do on the set of "The King's Warden." Courtesy of Showbox

Unprecedented box office momentum

The movie has been unaffected by the standard box office drop-off. Instead of losing momentum, weekend attendance grew from 760,000 in its first week to 1.75 million a few weeks later. On Sunday, when Korea commemerated the 107th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, the film set a single-day record with approximately 810,000 ticket sales.

Film industry analyst Kim Hyung-ho said the acceleration in ticket sales is fueled by strong word-of-mouth and a surge of returning theatergoers. "It seems the number of viewers greatly increased as audiences, who had not been going to theaters much since 'Exhuma' and 'The Roundup: Punishment' two years ago, returned, " Kim said.

Source: Korea Times News