Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” has become the highest-grossing international release in Korean box office history in local currency terms, surpassing “Avatar: The Way of Water” with a total of KRW139.2 billion ($101.5 million) as of October 11.
The Universal release is now the top Hollywood title of all time in the region. Only two Korean films have earned more than this. Jang Hang-joon’s “The King’s Warden” set an all-time record this year with KRW153.2 billion ($111.7 million), while Lee Byeong-heon’s 2019 comedy “Extreme Job” is just ahead of “The Odyssey” with KRW139.6 billion ($101.8 million).
Admission for “The Odyssey” is 12 million, equivalent to about 24% of the country’s population. No other international film has crossed 10 million admissions this year. “The Odyssey” held the No. 1 spot for seven consecutive weekends, the longest period for an international title in Korea.
It is now Nolan’s biggest film in Korea, as well as the biggest Universal title there. It also holds the IMAX record, a total that continues to grow as the film heads into its 10th week on the format’s screens. No film released in Korea has had greater admissions to IMAX and Dolby Cinema screens, and IMAX shows continued to sell out for the fifth week of release, the longest sell-out on record.
The film crossed the 10 million admissions mark in 33 days, faster than any non-franchise international title. It was the first international film with a 15+ rating to reach that level, and the first August release of any kind to do so. The result made Nolan the first director to have two non-franchise international films exceed 10 million admissions in Korea.
Demand was created even before opening. “The Odyssey” recorded the highest advance ticket sales of the year and led Korean presales for 43 consecutive days as of September 14, the longest period this year. As of September 13, it has been the top international film at the box office for 40 consecutive days, which is also a record.
The Korean promotional tour set several post-pandemic milestones. 209 members of the media attended the Seoul press conference, the largest attendance for such a tour since the pandemic. A premiere event organized by CGV received 32,411 applications, a 463-to-1 ratio and the highest participation recorded by an exhibitor for a Korea premiere. The tour delegation made 11 appearances in Korean TV programs and online content, and the tour’s Cine21 Master Talk was viewed 1 million times, the most in the series’ history.
BTS’s Jungkook, TXT’s Soobin, and members of Rize were among the Korean stars who willingly recommended the film, sparking conversations on social media. Content voluntarily created by influencers and YouTubers generated KRW1.27 billion (about $1 million) in estimated media value, while sales of books associated with “The Odyssey” increased 30-fold after release.
Nolan also became the first international film director to appear on Korea’s non-dramatic buzzworthiness chart, a ranking usually filled by local television personalities and entertainers. Each new batch of IMAX tickets brought congestion to CGV’s servers, leading to new sales.