Japan’s tiniest stars conquered Korea’s biggest weekend. “Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island” topped the Korean box office over the October 9–11 holiday weekend, drawing about 407,800 moviegoers in three days.
According to data from the Korean Film Council’s integrated ticketing network reported by Kukje Shinmun, the anime — released September 30 — has now accumulated about 1,281,000 admissions in total.
The film follows Chiikawa and friends as they travel to an unknown island and dig into its hidden secret. In Korea the franchise goes by the nickname “Munjaggui” (“something small and cute”) and has built a thick fandom; the contrast between the adorable characters and the series’ dark, realistic worldview is cited as driving its box office run.
The race for first place was razor-thin: Hur Jin-ho’s “Assassins” finished second with about 407,600 admissions, just 200 behind, while crossing 3 million cumulative admissions. The film traces the suspicions and forces behind the 1974 assassination of First Lady Yuk Young-soo, and has kept drawing crowds despite being caught in a historical-distortion debate in political circles. Third went to “Tazza: Belzebub’s Song” with about 190,000 admissions (1,744,000 cumulative since its September 23 release), with Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” fourth at about 95,000. “The Resurrected: The Red” starring Goo Kyo-hwan was fifth with about 49,000, and Hirokazu Koreeda’s “Lookback” was sixth with about 41,000.
As of 9 a.m. on October 12, Chiikawa still led advance reservations with a 30.5 percent share, suggesting the tiny trio’s reign may continue next week.
