Jun Ji-hyun and Koo Kyo-hwan's 'Gunche' draws 1.49 million viewers in four days

Jun Ji-hyun and Koo Kyo-hwan's 'Gunche' draws 1.49 million viewers in four days

Director Yeon Sang-ho's new film 'Gunche' has sparked an overwhelming box-office sensation in its opening weekend, raising interest in the records it may set going forward.

According to the Korean Film Council's integrated movie ticket network, 'Gunche' drew 1,281,665 moviegoers over the three days from May 22 to 24, racing to No. 1 at the box office. As of 7 a.m. on May 25, its cumulative audience stood at 1.49 million.

'Gunche' depicts a story of survivors isolated inside a building sealed off by a mysterious infection outbreak as they confront infected people evolving in unpredictable forms. After drawing 199,768 viewers on its opening day, May 21, and recording the highest opening score among films released this year, it continued to show overwhelming audience-drawing power through its first weekend.

'Gunche' is drawing attention because its first-weekend performance surpassed the opening-weekend scores of all this year's hit releases, including 'The Man Who Lives with the King,' 'Project Hail Mary,' 'Michael,' and 'The Devil Wears Prada 2.'

Director Yeon is truly one of the foremost leaders of Korean zombie cinema, so audience interest in this film has been intense. Its lavish cast, including Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Shin-rok, and Go Soo, also contributed greatly to its box-office success.