As per Box Office Mojo, a U.S. online box office analysis service, on Monday, Korean classic “Oldboy” claimed the 12th spot, amassing 880,000 U.S. dollars in five days since its re-release on Saturday.
Deadline, a prominent entertainment news agency, projected that the re-release revenue would soon exceed one million U.S. dollars. The agency also highlighted the exceptional success of the film, considering it is a re-release screened in only 250 theaters, a modest number compared to the 1,680 to 4,000 theaters allocated to movies ranking from No. 1 through No. 11 at the box office.
Especially embraced in major cities like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, “Oldboy” holds a significant role in introducing Korean cinema globally, according to LA Times. The newspaper marked it as a must-watch among the week's L.A. releases. The Atlantic, an American magazine on current affairs, said in its August 21 review that the film is still “shocking” and has “lost none of its ability to jar viewers 20 years on.”
weappon@donga.com