Colony Surpasses 1 Million Moviegoers in Four Days, Breaking The Man Who Lives with the King Record
Yeon Sang-ho’s zombie film Colony topped 1 million admissions in four days, outpacing The Man Who Lives with the King and drawing global festival acclaim.
Colony Surpasses 1 Million Moviegoers in Four Days, Breaking The Man Who Lives with the King Record
The film Colony, directed by Yeon Sang-ho, surpassed 1 million moviegoers on the morning of May 24, just four days after its release. It is moving faster at the box office than The Man Who Lives with the King, directed by Jang Hang-jun.
This marks the fastest pace among this year’s releases to cross 1 million admissions, including The Man Who Lives with the King, the year’s biggest hit with about 16.85 million admissions. The Man Who Lives with the King passed 1 million moviegoers five days after its release.
Colony follows survivors trapped inside a building sealed off by a mysterious infection outbreak as they confront infected people evolving in unpredictable forms. Yeon Sang-ho, a leading figure in Korean zombie cinema, presents a new take on the zombie genre, introducing a new species unlike anything seen before.
On May 15 local time, Thierry Frémaux, the executive committee chairman of the Cannes International Film Festival, praised the Colony team, saying, “Since the day I first saw the film, I am still frightened and trembling with fear.” Later, at the world premiere, roughly 2,300 seats sold out early, while global fans formed long lines in front of the theater holding handmade signs in hopes of getting tickets.
After the end credits rolled, the film received a seven-minute standing ovation. Following the screening, Executive Committee Chairman Frémaux praised director Yeon Sang-ho, saying, “The Cannes Film Festival is yours.”
Samuel Jamier, president of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), praised the film, saying, “Colony introduces a new physical grammar for zombies and is an innovative work without precedent in contemporary genre cinema.”
The French outlet Trois Couleurs also praised director Yeon’s signature precise and immersive action sequences, while Variety commended the film for smartly unpacking how AI and collective thinking erode humanity.
Until now, it has been extremely rare for films praised or awarded at Cannes, Venice, and Berlin, known as the world’s three major international film festivals, to succeed at the box office. But Colony is breaking that formula.
Oh Seo-yoon
lcs9515@mediafine.co.kr
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