The Korea Herald

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‘Exhuma’ sets opening record in Vietnam

By Kim Da-sol

Published : March 19, 2024 - 15:18

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An Indonesian poster for An Indonesian poster for "Exhuma” (Showbox)

Director Jang Jae-hyun’s occult mystery flick “Exhuma,” which is expected to surpass 10 million in audience numbers here this week, has also caught the attention of moviegoers in several Asian countries.

“Exhuma” opened in Indonesia on Feb. 28 and sold 180,000 tickets in 20 days, becoming the most successful Korean film in Indonesia to date. The movie has also surpassed the animated franchise flick "Kung Fu Panda 4" in terms of the total number of screens allocated in Indonesia.

The movie also opened in Vietnam on Friday and marked a record-high $660,000 in ticket sales on its opening day -- the greatest opening record for a Korean film released in Vietnam, surpassing the 2022 comedy film “6/45.”

In Taiwan, where the movie opened on March 8, it grossed 28.8 million Taiwanese dollars ($907,000) a week after opening.

The movie is being distributed to 133 countries around the world including Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan and Mongolia. The flick is slated to open this month in the US, Canada, Britain and Australia.

“Exhuma” continues its strong performance at the Korean box office, attracting 9.38 million moviegoers as of this week. It is the most-viewed film released so far this year.

The movie is attracting moviegoers at a much faster pace compared to the 2023 hit film “12. 12: The Day,” hitting the 1-million admissions mark within three days -- a day earlier than the 2023 film.

“Exhuma,” the first work of acclaimed "master of K-occult" Jang in five years, centers around the story of Sang-deok (Choi Min-sik), who is tasked with relocating a tomb with the help of Young-geun (Yoo Hae-jin), an undertaker, after young exorcists Hwa-rim (Kim Go-eun) and Bong-gil (Lee Do-hyun) receive a hefty sum of money and discover through a supernatural phenomenon a dark omen related to a wealthy Los Angeles family.

The movie, which is veteran actor Choi’s first-ever occult genre flick in his 35-year acting career, was invited to the 74th Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year.