Big openings for films Haeundae, Chaw
by javabeans
Disaster movie “Haeundae,” horror-action film “Chaw”
Korean movies are doing well this week at the box office, with the just-released tsunami movie Haeundae [해운대] selling more than 166,000 tickets in its first day alone, beating out Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince in the latter’s second week out. (Granted, Harry Potter is most certainly going to win in overall numbers, but it’s a strong showing for a Korean film to premiere at #1 when it’s going up against international blockbusters like Potter and Transformers 2.)
Meanwhile, another Korean action movie opened big last week, the killer-pig-on-the-loose film Chaw [차우] starring Uhm Tae-woong and Jung Yumi. Chaw opened on the same day as Harry Potter and secured a second-place box-office slot for the day. By the end of its first week, Chaw had managed to break the 1 million mark, benefiting from word-of-mouth buzz.
Haeundae is Korea’s first large-scale disaster movie, and depicts the southern city of Busan as it is hit by a tsunami. The visual effects probably don’t compare to Hollywood films of the same ilk (for instance, I just saw the trailer for 2012, and holy moly that looks incredible), but based on the reviews the film seems to be holding its own. It stars Ha Ji-won, Sol Kyung-gu, Uhm Jung-hwa, Park Joong-hoon, and Lee Min-ki.
Via Chosun, Break News
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Tags: box office, Ha Ji-won, Jung Yumi, Sol Kyung-gu, Uhm Tae-woong
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1 samsooki
July 23, 2009 at 11:54 AM
That last picture reminds me of the movie trailer (2012) where you had an ocean wave that was cresting over the top of the Himalayas.
What is interesting about the Haeundae movie is that these days, the southern part of Korea is trying to deal with the massive flooding coming from the amount of rain that they have received, so with all the movie scenes of water flowing out of people's homes and being waist deep or higher in floodwaters, parts of the movie might look more like a documentary than a fantasy film.
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2 ar_arguably romantic
July 23, 2009 at 12:58 PM
I hate disaster movies but props to Haeundae for being a korean movie that is not romance, melodrama, comedy, or horror! Is it just me or does the Chaw poster look more like a poster for a comedy than a horror movie? the actors look scared but funny at the same time....
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3 cecee
July 23, 2009 at 1:42 PM
Perhaps this will be the wave for the new blockbuster movies in Korea. I always did like disaster movies; only because it happens! Tsunamis are now an often occurance and threat! So are hurricanes, such as Katrina in New Orleans and Ike in Houston Galveston.
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4
July 23, 2009 at 2:04 PM
A disaster movie beating Harry Potter. Well, I'm biased since I was one of the people that went to the midnight showing but I'd rather see Valkyrie again in a pit of snakes than see a disaster movie. I've gone through hurricanes (I live in Florida) and tsunamis (Philippines) and it wasn't as exciting/scary as they portray...no where close. However, the aftermath is another story. No electricity for weeks can make you really creative on how to spend all that free time.
Off topic...what happened to the Partner reviews and recaps? I'm on episode 8! It's really good. Keeping me from falling asleep at work.
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5 Snikki
July 23, 2009 at 3:26 PM
Scurry!!! Especially the last picture. I hope the 2012 prediction is just made up by the Mayans and Nostradamus to scare the crap out of Paris Hilton.
Oh and koinkidinkally, I'm standing right next to a girl who looks like Jung Yumi...keke.
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6 Vico
July 23, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Those last couple of pics remind me of the movie The Day After Tomorrow.
@ asianromance, yeah the Chaw poster looks kind of funny rather than scary.
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7 capricious
July 23, 2009 at 3:47 PM
is that pix from the movie? look so fake. but i salute the actors and actresses who act in film like this. You are acting against something you can't see. That's not a small feat.
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8 din
July 23, 2009 at 4:00 PM
chaw's poster looks like a parody of a horror film & not one itself :p
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9 squint
July 23, 2009 at 4:03 PM
@ Vico:
you're right.. that's the first thing that popped into my mind. Haeundae resembles much like The Day After Tomorrow, which by the way is a WONDERFUL and IMPACTING movie for those who have yet to watch it. the movie makes the disaster events that first hit NYC then the rest of the world SO SO realistic.
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10 avidwatcher
July 23, 2009 at 4:49 PM
It seems that the siblings, Uhm Jung Hwa and Uhm Tae Woong are squaring off on the big screen this time ... I'm not a huge fan of horror flicks... including ones about killer pigs... I'd probably be more inclined to watch Haeundae
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11 Carmie
July 23, 2009 at 5:41 PM
Uhm Tae Woong and Uhm Jung Hwa are both coming out with something again at the same time.
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12 arielna
July 23, 2009 at 5:45 PM
I've read somewhere that chaw is actually a horror comedy movie. If it is, I guess the poster is spot on.
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13 Rev
July 23, 2009 at 6:09 PM
Heh, I actually thought of Deep Impact when I saw the last picture.
Just looking at the behind the scenes photos. Wonder how much water they used for the production.
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14 Jenna
July 23, 2009 at 9:21 PM
Love disaster/horror flicks!! Love Ha JiWon!!
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15 Anna :D
July 23, 2009 at 11:38 PM
I actually saw Chaw.
I though it was a really good movie.
It was a little scary at parts but it also had a little bit of comedy, not alot though.
Overall it was really good and im glad i saw it!!
I so wanted to see Haeundae, but I left korea the day it came out!!!
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16 Yvette
July 25, 2009 at 5:32 AM
I just saw Haeundae in the theater today.
I think it was really worth the watch, and it kind of reminded me of the Day After Tomorrow, lol.
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