Park Shin Hye and Yoo Ah In's new zombie "#ALIVE" sets a strong start at the Korean box office!
The movie premiered on July 24, and it already sold more than 200,000 tickets during its opening day. This signals that the film industry is back in business. Everyone is excited to get the thrill and feel the vibes of watching movies with their favorite stars!
According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), "#ALIVE" had recorded a total of 204,071 moviegoers on the first day of its release. The statistics show that the movie has the highest number of first-day cinema-goers since the pandemic.
South Korea raised it's COVID-19 threat alert level to "severe" in February as the number of infected cases soars high. This took a significant loss as effectively it declined the movie theater industry for months.
On Thursday, the movie made a whooping revenue of USD 1.1 million during its opening day, as per Spackman Entertainment. They are the flick's producer, while Zip Cinema is Spackman's indirect wholly-owned subsidiary.
"#ALIVE" hits the record as the second-placed highest grosser for movies this year in terms of the audience on release day. The movie "The Man Standing Next" gained 252,028 moviegoers on its premiere day on January 22 and took first place.
Zombie thrillers are never as new as one of the hitmakers when it comes to Korean films. "Train to Busan" also became hugely popular worldwide.
With great acting performances from Park Shin Hye and Yoo Ah In and directed by Jo Il-Hyung, "#ALIVE" revolves around people who become isolated in their apartment following the zombie's attack. They are the sole survivors with no means to communicate with others. They struggle for survival in a crisis.
"#ALIVE" is based on an original scenario by Hollywood writer Matt Taylor. He is also a contributor and behind the success of the American documentary series, "Small Business Revolution: Main Street."
During the press conference held on June 15, the director and lead actors share their thoughts about the film.
Yoo Ah In felt that the film and the current situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic have similarities, saying, "It is all about life's survival and isolation with the survivors experiencing in the film. With what is going on right now, people might think about comparing the situation we are all in. There may be a lot of people able to relate to the story."
The actor continued, "By watching the movie, I hope that their experience in the theater will allow them to relieve some of their stress and feel refreshed."
Park Shin Hye then said, "The movie is a genre work, it will make them feel good. It will give hope of surviving together just like what Joon Woo and Yoo Bin felt in the film."
Watch the trailer below!
