The Thieves sets new box office record

48 July 27, 2012July 27, 2012

by javabeans

So, apparently summer + blockbuster + multiple A-list stars + caper + action = hit movie. WHO KNEW?

The Thieves opened on Thursday, July 25, and quickly racked up the ticket admittances, setting a new all-time box office record: its 436,628 ticket sales in Day 1 is the top Korean film opening ever, solidly taking over the distinction from the previous top film, 2006’s sci-fi-thriller The Host, which had 395,951 admittances on its first day.

(By the way, who else finds South Korea’s method of counting ticket admittances vastly more useful in calculating box office records, rather than sheer money grossed? Because I seem to recall a day when ticket prices didn’t cost more than minimum wage, or sometimes double, and it’s a lot more straightforward to count how many times the movie was seen when you’re talking about all-time biggest movies. But sigh. I guess the bottom line is always about money in the end.)

The Thieves—starring a bevy of big stars like Lee Jung-jae, Kim Hye-soo, Kim Yoon-seok, Jeon Ji-hyun, and Kim Soo-hyun—sold out from the first morning screenings on opening day and benefited from word of mouth, according to distributor Showbox. It hit the 1 million sales mark on Day 3 and is well on its way to being one of the year’s biggest hits.

To compare The Thieves’ opening day sales with other movies in the 1 million club, we have Haeundae with 177,000, The Good, The Bad, The Weird with 386,880, and D-War at 387,468. Looking at 2012 alone, the previous top opener was Deranged, the Kim Myung-min disaster-thriller about hairworms (the movie’s literal Korean title) that infect people and cause them to drown themselves. It opened with 190,000 tickets.

On its second day, it beat out Dark Knight Rises (which opened on the 19th), which sold 167,313 tickets for a total of 3,365,299 overall. The Thieves drew 410,192 ticketholders that day for a total of 862,663 admittances total.

July 27 was Day 3, and the film stayed in No. 1 position with 492,701 ticket sales, hitting a total of 1,355,342.

I don’t expect The Thieves to reinvent the wheel or pull out something daring and unexpected—it’s a heist movie with big stars. A blockbuster primed for summertime entertainment. And I’m cool with that, because who doesn’t love a good fast caper? I just hope it delivers on its promise of zippy, Ocean’s Eleven-inspired fun.

Via My Daily, Joy News

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1 N

July 27, 2012 at 3:43 PM

Man i wish i lived in Korea... :(
I would've been one of the watchers.

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harukogirl

July 28, 2012 at 3:08 AM

can anyone give me a good plot description? I'm watching it in Korea with friends in a few hours....and I don't understand a whole lot of korean ^^;;

I watched Chilling Romance last time I visited Korea, and was able to follow along after reading a detailed description....thanks!

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Drea

July 28, 2012 at 6:59 AM

Plot is like Ocean !!

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harukogirl

July 28, 2012 at 6:01 PM

Ha ha, thanks.I was able to follow along pretty well, and my friend would explain the Chinese parts (cause I couldn't read the subs fast enough ^^;;)

I really liked it, it was a fun movie. And Kim Soo-hyun...that boy...and that kiss was HOT.

;D yeah, now you know why *I* went to see the movie...

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babyfat

July 28, 2012 at 7:22 PM

Ocean 11 Asian styles with a few of HK majors and Korean A listers : there your winning tickets - its one of those movies w/ big names pretty women action pack fancies placements : no thinking kind of movies : spell Summer Fun

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akichan

July 28, 2012 at 5:25 AM

me too!!
:))

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am

July 30, 2012 at 8:44 AM

I would be too, definitely.

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2 yuechan

July 27, 2012 at 3:43 PM

I wonder when the movie will start showing worldwide... I am actually looking forward to watch it just because of Kim Soo-hyun. I mean, we've seen him as a country boy and a King... Now a thief? Talk about diverse role!

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Ivoire

July 27, 2012 at 4:54 PM

Exactly! Good for him, he is expanding his portfolio of roles and stretching himself.

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red

July 27, 2012 at 6:54 PM

he has a kiss scene with Jeon Ji-hyun

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3 Maya

July 27, 2012 at 3:52 PM

Omo! I just get it now why Kim Soo Hyun was playing the thieves' boss in Running Man.
The movie does have that Ocean Eleven vibes.

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4 Mystisith

July 27, 2012 at 4:02 PM

"Impressive! Most impressive..."
Who said popcorn movies Korean style were a bad thing? Not me! Glad for the prods and cast.

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Amber

July 27, 2012 at 4:25 PM

...I am very tired, so my mind may or may not have created a disturbing and yet amusing mental image based on that last sentence.

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zodd

July 27, 2012 at 6:40 PM

Only if that at the level of Transformers. Terrible terrible movies.

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Geria

July 27, 2012 at 6:46 PM

LOL @ the Transformers movies. I think everyone can agree to that.

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5 Amber

July 27, 2012 at 4:24 PM

I want to see this SO BAD.

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6 fodfran

July 27, 2012 at 4:31 PM

I'd watch it for Kim Soo Hyun if I lived in Korea.

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himonogirl

July 29, 2012 at 7:15 AM

haha, and that explains the box-office record. Imagine each fan of these stars thinking that, and I bet you have this year's biggest hit. Though I suck in math, so I may be wrong somewhere...

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7 ck1Oz

July 27, 2012 at 4:47 PM

I would watch it just for the cast .A good movie plot would just be a bonus .

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8 Ivoire

July 27, 2012 at 4:52 PM

Happy for them, and especially for KSH. He is going places!!! His family must be proud of him...

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9 jomo143

July 27, 2012 at 5:53 PM

JB - I love how you put stuff like this in:
"disaster-thriller about hairworms (the movie’s literal Korean title) that infect people and cause them to drown themselves" as if I am not going to stop reading and laugh out loud for 30 seconds before I can go back to the article.

I love this place.

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10 stars4u

July 27, 2012 at 6:15 PM

And I bet this movie would have a US screening and one of the places would probably be Georgia, which is where I am for a 2 weeks vacation, but it would probably be showing after I get back to Florida. Booooo!

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11 eleanor

July 27, 2012 at 6:19 PM

Now - how to get them to show it in the US...

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12 hunneybunny

July 27, 2012 at 6:34 PM

just a thought on the number of admittances vs. money grossed: perhaps cheaper prices = more attendance, more expensive = less attendance, so using the sheer amount grossed kind of adjusts for that? and it also helps to calculate how successful the movie was in terms of return on investment. that's just my thoughts though, i do agree that just using tickets sold is more straightforward :P

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13 xiaoSxin

July 27, 2012 at 7:02 PM

Here's to me hoping it will get the LA release soon!

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vanillasalt

July 28, 2012 at 12:18 AM

They only place that shows Korean movies in LA is CGV cinemas in Koreatown. I wish they'd show some closer to where I live, ktown is kinda far for me.

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14 come2noona

July 27, 2012 at 7:23 PM

I hope this comes to the States! I would absolutely go. I am going to see "Deranged" (with the hairworms and all) next week!

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15 Airyn

July 27, 2012 at 7:38 PM

Definitely, admittance numbers are more useful and a better indicator of just how well a film is doing. I've always argued for that when it comes to the US Box Office numbers.

Ticket prices vary between cinemas and locations, and this is very evident when a movie is also being shown in 3D and IMAX. While we expect something like The Dark Knight Rises to rake in big money anyway, the gross ticket sales will be even higher considering it's screening in IMAX, which charges almost double the regular ticket price. But do we know how many people actually came to see the movie? Not really. Then again, I guess money is more important to most studios.

I like the Korean system because I'd know that half a million people saw my movie on the first day, for example, and that's a good baseline for comparison against other movies that are showing on the same day.

Anyway, yay for the folks behind The Thieves! I still wish they'll show it where I am. They did show Sector 7 here, so I hope a local distributor will pick up The Thieves, too.

And yay for Kim Soo-hyun! <3

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16 MsGB

July 27, 2012 at 7:48 PM

All I wanna know is who the freak is holding a gun on my baby KSH!?! Can't wait to see this movie!!!!!

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MsGB

July 27, 2012 at 7:50 PM

I jinned out when I seen that pic! HA!

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17 iamdeb

July 27, 2012 at 8:06 PM

Does anyone know how well Kang Ji Hwan's new movie did at the box office? I haven't heard much about it and couldn't find much info about how well it did online.

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18 queencircles

July 27, 2012 at 8:17 PM

ooh I thought it already opened. I've been checking the theater that shows Korean movies all summer to see when it's going to be available. Can't wait until it comes to Chicago!!! Looks ssoooo good!!

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19 coffeevampire

July 27, 2012 at 9:13 PM

wow, I can't wait to see this. Spectacular cast and I have heard good things about this movie!

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20 annarosin

July 27, 2012 at 9:23 PM

I like the thought process behind counting ticket numbers versus ticket sales, but the US is so different from state to state in terms of ticket costs it's a bit ridiculous. The same movie ticket will cost you 17 bucks in New York City versus $7.50 in North Carolina. Ask me how I know...

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21 anicheung

July 27, 2012 at 9:29 PM

This is one of many, many, many times I wish I could be in South Korea. I so want to watch this movie, but I have to wait for international release, either as DVD, on Netflix, or if it gets to release in theater here in America. Ack! So frustrating!

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22 Elina

July 27, 2012 at 11:40 PM

Pretty much everyone in Europe counts ticket admittance rather than money grossed.

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23 lei

July 28, 2012 at 12:44 AM

""So, apparently summer + blockbuster + multiple A-list stars + caper + action = hit movie. WHO KNEW?""

Is kim soo hyun is now an A-list actor? the PD is not wrong to choose ksh for this movie.

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eny

July 28, 2012 at 3:43 AM

A list actor? really ???? the one i know is just Kim Soo Hyun and i guess too early to call him A-list actor, just see two drama of him, i like him in dream high but the moon i don't like it

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himonogirl

July 29, 2012 at 7:11 AM

Ow. Ow. You're a newcomer in K-Drama/MovieLand, aren't you? I'm not a specialist, but even I know them, and happened to watch my first K-movies (the most famous) with these actors (namely Lee Jung-jae, Jeon Ji-hyun).
Quick, go check their filmography, you're missing out big time :D

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Javabeans

July 28, 2012 at 1:34 PM

Nah, I don't think Kim Soo-hyun is quite there yet. He's still working his way up. But Lee Jung-jae, Jeon Ji-hyun, Kim Hye-soo, Kim Yoon-seok = definite, longtime A-listers.

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bd

July 30, 2012 at 10:17 PM

JJH isn't just an A-lister; she's been at the very top since MSG.

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24 Kes

July 28, 2012 at 3:30 AM

Yeongasi was really good! I don't speak Korean well enough to get all the details, but the mood and atmosphere was very tense and good, with some good acting.

Also, co-star Kim Dongwan swore that if the movie gets 5mil in tickets sold, he will strip in the middle of a busy intersection and do 500 push-ups. So there's that possibility to look forward to! XD

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25 Lady Seoul

July 28, 2012 at 5:58 AM

Kim Soo Hyun has a lot to do with it I think! I know I would've watched it just for him..haha

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26 TokyoDogz

July 28, 2012 at 10:24 AM

i look forward to tis movie, dunno when it will be seen online but i hope soon! and i like almost every actor/actress in it. really lookin forward to it!!!

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27 'dalia

July 28, 2012 at 7:30 PM

yeahh...i dunno Thieves doesnt' really interest me much. even with my puppy Kim Soo Hyun co-starring in it.

now Yeongasi on ther other hand, i really want to see. i wish it opened up in theatres here in San Francisco like it did in LA and NYC. i guess i'll have to wait for the dvd...

hope it reaches 5 mil so Dong Wan is forced to do the push ups shirtless like he promised. lol